I     / 


UC-NRLF 


Workers'  Education 


REVISED  EDITION 


AMERICAN  EXPERIMENTS 

(WITH  A  FEW  FOREIGN  EXAMPLES) 


By 

ARTHUR  GLEASON 

of  the 

Bureau  of  Industrial  Research 

289  Fourth  Avenue 
New  York 


Fifty  Cents  a  Copy 


Copyright,  1921,  by 

The  Bureau  of  Industrial  Research 

289  Fourth  Avenue 

New  York 


Workers'  Education 


REVISED  EDITION 


AMERICAN  EXPERIMENTS 

(WITH  A  FEW  FOREIGN   EXAMPLES) 

(June  2£th,  1921) 


By 

ARTHUR  GLEASON 

of  the 

Bureau  of  Industrial  Research 

289  Fourth  Avenue 
New  York 


Fifty  Cents  a  Copy 

•15 


FOREWORD 

This  pamphlet  was  never  intended  for  anything  but  a  tentative 
first  word.  That  even  this  imperfect  thing  was  wanted  is  shown 
by  the  4000  requests  for  it,  already  received.  It  ought  now  to  be 
run  out  of  existence  by  a  full  length  study  of  the  field. 

The  getting  together  of  this  second  edition  is  due  to  the  devoted 
work  of  Abraham  Epstein  and  Frank  Anderson. 


TaDle  of  Contents 

CHAPTER  I 

WORKERS'  EDUCATION 

PAGE 

Definition 5-6 

"Control" 6-7 

Varieties 7-8 

Next  Steps 8-9 

Objects 9-10 

Methods        10-13 

Teachers 13-15 

Text-Books        15-17 

CHAPTER  II 

AMERICAN  EXPERIMENTS 18-60 

National  Women's  Trade  Union  League 18-19 

International -Ladies'  Garment  Workers, 19-27 

United  Labor  Education  Committee 27-30 

Cooperatives 30-32 

Trade  Union  College  of  Boston                         .    ^  32-34 

Trade  Union  College  of  Washington,  D.  C 35-36 

Workers'  College  of  Seattle 36-37 

Rochester  Labor  College 37-39 

Baltimore  Labor  Class 39-40 

Pennsylvania  Department  of  Education 40-41 

Philadelphia  Trade  Union  College         ......  41 

Pittsburgh  Trade  Union  College 41-42 

Pennsylvania    Classes 42-43 

Trade  Union  College  of  Greater  New  York     ....  43-44 

Amherst  Classes 44 

Cleveland  Workers'  University         45-46 

Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers 46-49 

Minneapolis  Workers'  College        49-50 

St.  Paul  Labor  College 50 


SCHOOLS  ON  A  SPECIAL  BASIS 

PAGE 

The  Rand  School '.  51-53 

Duluth  Work  People's  College        53-54 

Detroit  W.  E.  A. 54 

Chicago  Workers'   Institute 54 

Brookwood 55-57 

Bryn  Mawr  Summer  School        58-59 

Porto  Rico 59 

Summary 60 

Workers'  Education  Bureau  of  America 61-63 

Suggestions  on  Classes 64-67 

CHAPTER  III 

A  FEW  FOREIGN  EXPERIMENTS 

Workers'  Education  in  Britain         68-69 

W.  E.  A .  69-73 

Ruskin  College 23-74 

Labor  College         74-75 

Belgian  Workers'  Education 76 

APPENDIX 

What  To  Read 77-81 

Directory — Great  Britain 79 

Directory— United  States 81-83 

Reading  List 84-85 

Lesson  Outline  86 


Chapter  I 
WORKERS'    EDUCATION 

I  HE  way  a  group  of  grown  persons  best  educate  each  other 
i  is  in  the  method  used  by  Socrates  and  his  friends.  It  is 
the  way  of  endless  discussion  centering  on  one  subject.  It 
is  almost  the  hardest  work  in  the  world.  The  results  are  some- 
times amazing.  A  grown  man  discovers  he  is  beginning  to  grow 
again.  Endless  discussion  about  one  subject  can  not  maintain  itself 
on  words.  It  dies  away  unless  it  feeds  on  knowledge  and  finally 
interpretation.  It  reaches  out  for  facts  and  then  for  the  meaning 
of  them.  In  modern  terms,  this  Socratic  method  means  a  class  of 
from  five  to  twenty-five,  who  read  books,  listen  to  talks,  and  ask  ques- 
tions. They  take  to  themselves  a  like-minded  teacher,  who  is  a 
good  fellow,  and  together  they  work  regularly  and  hard.  This  is  the 
heart  of  workers'  education — the  class  financed  on  trade  union 
money,  the  teacher  a  comrade,  the  method  discussion,  the  subject  the 
social  sciences,  the  aim  an  understanding  of  life  and  the  remoulding 
of  the  scheme  of  things.  Where  that  dream  of  a  better  world  is 
absent,  adult  workers'  education  will  fade  away  in  the  loneliness  and 
rigor  of  the  effort. 

But  there  is  no  one  road  to  freedom.  There  are  roads  to  free- 
dom. So  workers'  education  will  include  elementary  classes  in  Eng- 
lish, and  entertainment  for  the  crowd.  But  the  road  for  the  leaders 
of  the  people  will  be  straight  and  hard.  Only  a  few  thousand  out 
of  the  millions  will  take  it.  It  is  a  different,  a  new  way  of  life  to  which 
the  worker  is  being  called. 

Definition. 

Workers'  (or  labor)  Education  (except  for  the  resident  college) 
falls  inside  the  classification  of  Adult  Education.  But  it  is  its  own 
kind  of  adult  education,  and  is  not  to  be  confused  with  university 
extension,  evening  high  schools,  night  schools,  public  lectures  and 
forums,  Chautauquas,  "Americanization,"  education  by  employers, 

[5] 


and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  industrial  courses.  Labor  education  is  inside  the 
labor  movement,  and  can  not  be  imposed  from  above  or  from  with- 
out. It  is  a  training  in  the  science  of  reconstruction.  It  is  a  means 
to  the  liberation  of  the  working  class,  individually  and  collectively. 
In  pursuing  that  aim,  it  uses  all  aids  that  will  enrich  the  life  of  the 
group  and  of  the  worker  in  the  group,  and  that  will  win  allegiance 
of  the  worker  to  the  group.  The  aim  then  is  clear-cut,  but  the 
content  and  the  methods  are  catholic.  Workers'  education  is  scientific 
and  cultural,  propagandist  and  civic,  industrial  and  social.  It  con- 
cerns itself  with  the  individual  and  his  needs,  the  citizen  and  his 
duties,  the  trade  unionist  and  his  functions,  the  group  and  its  prob- 
lems, the  industry  and  its  conditions. 

The  best  recent  summary  of  workers'  education  is  that  of  Dr. 
Harry  Laidler: — 

If  the  object  of  a  workers'  educational  experiment  were  to  give  the 
worker  greater  power  of  enjoyment  here  and  now;  or  to  develop  his 
ability  to  think  fundamentally  on  social  problems;  or  to  help  him  to 
function  more  effectively  as  a  citizen  in  the  solution  of  social  problems; 
or  to  equip  him  to  fight  effectively  for  immediate  improvement  in  the 
conditions  of  labor;  to  train  him  as  a  leader  in  the  trade  union  move- 
ment; to  interpret  to  him  his  place  in  the  scheme  of  things;  to  give 
impetus  to  his  demand  for  a  new  order  of  society;  to  develop  his  sense 
of  loyalty  to  his  economic  organization — if  the  aim  were  any  one  of 
these  things — I  believe  that  that  aim  would  be  a  legitimate  aim  of 
workers'  education. 

Education,  says  Graham  Wallas,  is  "a  process  by  which  human 
beings  so  acquire  the  knowledge  and  habits  which  constitute  civiliza- 
tion as  to  be  fitted  to  live  well  both  individually  and  in  cooperation." 
That  which  distinguishes  labor  education  in  this  process  are  the 
experiences  of  the  workers  and  the  conditions  of  industry. 

"Control." 

Workers'  education  as  it  develops  will  be  financed  on  workers' 
money,  controlled  (in  the  sense  of  policy)  and  managed  (in  the 
sense  of  administration),  by  workers'  organizations.  It  is  idle  to 
debate  whether  workers'  education  can  be  controlled  by  others  than 
the  workers.  It  can  not  be.  Controlled  by  "public"  authorities,  by 
universities,  by  middle-class  persons,  it  is  adult  education.  It  is 
education.  It  is  useful.  But  it  is  not  workers'  education.  Workers' 

[6] 


education  can  no  more  be  outside  the  labor  movement  than  a  trade 
union.  It  is  as  definite  an  expression  of  the  labor  movement  as  the 
trade  union.  When  the  union  is  guided  by  outside  benefactors  it 
becomes  a  "company"  union,  a  welfare  club.  When  education  of  the 
workers  is  controlled  by  other  organizations  than  the  organization  of 
the  workers,  it  remains  inside  the  category  of  adult  education,  but  it 
passes  out  of  that  special  kind  of  adult  education  which  is  workers' 
education. 

Varieties. 

In  the  United  States  there  may  be  one  kind  of  education  for  a 
particular  racial  group.  There  will  be  regional  solutions,  local  ex- 
periments, experiments  in  a  given  industry.  Our  infinite  variety 
of  life  and  our  wide  spaces  will  demand  a  multitude  of  experiments. 

The  peasant  and  cooperative  background  of  Denmark  results  in  a 
workers'  education  of  the  folk  high  schools,  which  is  possible  perhaps 
for  certain  Middle  Western  groups  in  our  country,  but  which  is  not 
universally  possible. 

The  healthy  and  balanced  growth  of  the  three-fold  labor  move- 
ment of  Belgium — the  trade  unions,  the  labor  party,  the  cooperatives 
— and  the  compactness  of  the  Kingdom  enable  the  workers  to  make 
a  neater  classification  of  needs  and  to  federate  the  solutions  into  a 
single  central  national  administrative  body,  which  would  break  down 
among  our  mountains  or  seep  away  upon  the  prairies. 

The  salty  individualism  of  the  British,  with  their  fundamental 
unity  of  consciousness,  permits  them  to  make  untidy  unrelated  ex- 
periments in  workers'  education,  all  moving  in  the  one  direction, 
although  unaware  of  its  goal.  A  loose  but  deeply  grounded  scholar- 
ship of  the  young  university  men  finds  ready  alliance  with  the  in- 
stinctive drive  of  the  workers  toward  a  fuller  life. 

No  such  casual  unprogrammed  adventure  into  the  universe  is 
possible  with  our  practical  pragmatic  American  business  unions.  We 
shall  demand  clear  statements  of  where  we  are  going.  There  will  be 
dozens  of  experiments,  but  each  will  keep  a  ledger  of  exact  results. 

Already  the  American  experiments  have  been  of  many  kinds. 
They  have  been  state-aided,  universky-aided,  independent  of  state 
and  university. 

[73 


^There  has  been  education  for  labor  given  by  wealthy  benevolent 
trustees,  as  in  the  Cooper  Union.  There  has  been  the  Rand  School 
on  a  party  basis.  There  have  been  schools  organized  on  the  basis 
of  the  consumers,  as  the  schools  of  the  cooperatives. 

There  have  been  schools  for  the  groups  of  producers:  a  single 
union,  'like  the  International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union; 
groups  of  unions  as  the  United  Labor  Education  Committee;  the 
Central  Labor  Body  of  a  city,  as  the  Trade  Union  College  of  Boston; 
the  State  Federation  of  Labor,  as  in  Pennsylvania. 

Next  Steps. 

Much  of  the  early  work  of  American  labor  education  will  concern 
itself  with  elementary  and  secondary  courses  in  such  subjects  as 
English  writing  and  speaking.  Because  of  the  racial  and  immigration 
problems,  there  is  no  general  level  of  adult  attainment.  Labor  groups 
differ  in  ability  to  read  and  write,  and  to  read,  write  and  speak  Eng- 
lish. Until  this  deficiency  is  met,  there  can  be  but  little  useful  work 
done  in  such  courses  as  history  and  economics.  As  long  as  immigra- 
tion brings  a  new  group  each  year,  classes  in  English,  elementary 
mathematics  and  so  on,  will  be  necessary.  These  classes  absorb  a 
large  proportion  of  the  energy  of  American  workers'  education. 
Already  many  of  these  adult  elementary  classes  are  taught  in  public 
buildings  by  public  school  teachers.  It  is  probable  that  this  sort  of 
education  will  be  increasingly  taken  over  by  public  authorities.  This 
will  leave  the  business  of  workers'  education  to  the  workers.  The 
objects,  methods  and  materials  of  what  is  meant  by  workers'  educa- 
tion will  be  outlined  in  the  next  pages. 

Workers'  education,  as  it  spreads,  is  of  course  vitally  concerned 
with  facts  in  the  social  sciences.  It  is  concerned  with  the  collection, 
classification  and  interpretation  of  these  facts.  This  means  that 
labor  education  requires  labor  research.  One  of  the  continuous  and 
all-powerful  influences  in  workers'  education  is  the  newspaper.  Labor 
education  requires  the  labor  paper.  So  as  fast  as  labor  education 
grows,  there  will  spring  up,  out  of  the  same  root,  labor  research  and 
the  labor  newspaper.  Research  is  one  of  the  sources  of  supply  for 
education.  The  daily,  weekly  and  monthly  paper  is  one  of  the  meth- 
ods of  imparting  education  to  the  workers.  The  labor  movement 

[8] 


will  remain  inside  the  squirrel-cage  of  wages  and  prices,  until  it 
employs  all  three — research,  education,  and  the  newspaper. 

Charles  Beard  once  said: 

"The  modern  university  does  not  have  for  its  major  interest  and 
prime  concern  the  free,  open  and  unafraid  consideration  of  modern 
issues." 

The  labor  group  is  beginning  to  demand  a  free,  open  and  unafraid 
consideration  of  modern  issues  in  institutions  of  its  own. 

Object.     Group  I. 

What  is  the  object  of  workers'  education?  One  object  is  to  train 
promising  youths,  who  are  already  officials,  or  are  potential  leaders, 
or  are  the  most  ambitious  of  the  rank  and  file.  Workers'  education 
will  train  them  in  the  technique  of  their  particular  union  and  in- 
dustry. It  will  train  them  in  the  relation  of  that  union  and  industry 
to  society  and  the  state.  This  kind  of  workers'  education  gives  the 
technique  of  leadership.  It  includes  courses  in  labor  law,  the  use  of 
the  injunction,  workmen's  compensation,  industrial  and  health  in- 
surance, unemployment,  Federal  agencies  of  inspection,  employers'  use 
of  a  secret  service,  duties  of  the  walking  delegate.  Perhaps  eventually 
place  can  be  found  in  the  curriculum  for  a  course  or  courses  dealing 
with  aspects  of  the  problem  of  management  and  production.  Al- 
though it  is  inevitable  that  present  interest  in  these  questions  should 
be  slight,  it  seems  equally  inevitable  that  the  leaders  among  the 
workers  must  more  and  more  equip  themselves  with  knowledge  of 
the  technique  of  their  industry  on  both  its  administrative  and  its 
operative  side.  And  this  can  be  directly  encouraged  if  an  expository 
and  critical  course  on  managerial  procedure  is  offered.  The  content  of 
a  course  on  modern  personnel  administration  would,  for  example, 
come  to  have  a  wide  appeal  and  a  great  practical  value.  As  the 
subject  of  "workers'  control"  demands  a  knowledge  of  the  functions 
of  foreman,  superintendent  and  technician,  and  a  knowledge  of  the 
whole  administrative  area,  it  will  become  increasingly  necessary  for 
the  advanced  labor  leader  to  study  the  shifting  "frontier  of  control." 
Once  the  institution  is  under  way,  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  select- 
ing students  for  this  first  group.  Only  those  will  be  admitted  who 
have  gone  through  certain  courses.  At  first,  the  leader  will  have  to 

[9] 


select  by  guess  work.  He  will  use  his  judgment,  admitting  those 
"who  are  sufficiently  interested  and  willing  to  try."  They  will  drop 
out  quickly,  under  the  more  intensive  and  stiff  regime,  if  their 
equipment  is  faulty,  and  their  devotion  languid. 

Object.     Group  II. 

A  second  object  of  workers'  education  is  to  give  the  more  eager 
of  the  rank  and  file  a  social  or  civic  education.  These  courses  will 
show  the  workers  how  they  are  governed.  They  will  deal  with  the 
economic  system  under  which  they  work,  and  the  nature  of  the  world 
in  which  they  find  themselves.  They  will  include  general  cultural 
courses  in  history,  economics  and  literature.  The  thing  aimed  at  is  a 
world  view.  The  favorite  courses  remain  history,  economics,  litera- 
ture, because  they  are  an  interpretation  of  man  in  his  world.  Once 
the  full  circle  is  drawn,  then,  into  a  segment  is  packed  the  considera- 
tion of  a  single  subject,  such  as  the  Greek  Commonwealth,  or  the 
Agrarian  Problem  of  the  Sixteenth  Century.  Education  is  "the 
effort  of  the  soul  to  find  a  true  expression  or  interpretation  of 
experience,  and  to  find  it,  not  alone,  but  with  the  help  of  others, 
fellow-students."  By  showing  to  a  man  his  place  in  the  long  process 
and  the  scheme  of  things,  education  helps  him  to  live  the  good  life. 

The  rank  and  file  will  not  be  interested  in  this  kind  of  labor 
education  for  many  years.  The  most  alert  and  energetic  men  and 
women  will  alone  be  attracted.  Labor  education  is  education  of  a 
tiny  minority,  the  most  promising  of  the  youth. 

Object.    Group  III. 

A  third  object  of  workers'  education  is  to  reach  the  rank  and  file 
with  education  for  the  love  of  it,  with  semi-entertainment  with  a 
cultural  slant.  Its  aim  is  mass  education. 

Method.    Groups  I  and  II. 

Methods  in  workers'  education  depend  on  objects.  If  the  object  is 
to  train  leaders  and  to  give  the  ambitious  minority  of  the  rank  and 
file  an  intensive  education,  then  the  method  will  be  that  of  the  small 
class  and  hard  work.  Education  for  these  groups  is  for  those  only 
who  feel  a  desire,  and  have  some  sense  of  the  direction  they  wish  to 

[10] 


travel.  The  experiment  will  begin  with  three  or  four  in  the  class,  and 
with  meager  funds.  If  correctly  grounded,  it  will  grow  slowly. 
Only  at  the  end  of  some  years  will  the  experiment  show  results  large 
enough  to  attract  outside  attention  and  public  ceremonies.  No  short 
cuts  and  no  brass  bands  will  lead  to  workers'  education  of  this  in- 
tensive kind.  This  education  is  self -education.  It  is  not  by  chance 
and  happy  blunder  that  workers'  education  rediscovered  the  ancient 
and  correct  method  of  teaching — the  Socratic  quiz,  the  question-and- 
answers  discussion.  The  workers  recaptured  this  method  through 
necessity.  The  miner  and  railwayman,  adult  and  having  knowledge 
of  life,  would  not  submit  to  the  autocracy  of  orthodox  teachers.  A 
"grown  man"  or  woman  will  not  sit  silently  each  week  for  several 
years  while  a  lecturer  or  an  orator  holds  the  platform.  Each  one  of 
the  group  insists  on  contributing.  University  extension  courses,  night 
schools,  Chautauquas,  civic  and  church  forums,  mass  meetings  with 
star  speakers,  concerts,  theatricals,  are  not  the  method  of  labor  educa- 
tion of  this  kind.  Labor  education  is  intensive  work  on  one  subject 
carried  on  by  a  small  class  (5  to  25). 

Opportunities  for  actual  industrial  responsibility  are  given  by  the 
duties  of  shop  chairman,  shop  committee,  and  by  the  organization  of 
cooperative  establishments.  This  practice  is  of  course  an  essential  of 
education. 

Method.     Group  III. 

One  method  of  reaching  the  rank  and  file,  as  yet  unawakened,  is 
by  semi-entertainment.  Various  devices  for  stirring  desire  for  edu- 
cation will  be  used.  Bribes  and  lures  will  be  applied.  A  beautiful 
actress  will  recite  Shakespeare.  A  full  orchestra  will  find  "The  Lost 
Chord."  Moving  pictures,  lantern  slides,  charts,  budgets,  maps,  and 
other  graphic  representations,  will  be  used.  Three-quarters  of  the 
time  will  be  used  in  attracting  people.  The  other  quarter  will  contain 
some  bit  of  information.  Out  of  these  mass  efforts  will  come  in- 
dividuals, asking  for  help  in  the  rudiments  of  mathematics,  in  the 
English  language.  Classes  will  be  formed  to  meet  the  two-fold  need 
of  those  who  never  had  an  elementary  education,  and  those  who  find 
that  an  elementary  education  has  left  them  uneducated.  Mass  educa- 
tion by  mass  semi-entertainment  will  contribute  to  solidarity  and 


enthusiasm,  which  may  later  lead  to  intensive  education  by  the  class- 
and-discussion  method  for  a  small  minority. 

The  question  is  asked: 

If  young  people  received  a  full  and  good  elementary  and  secondary 
education,  would  there  be  need  of  workers'  adult  education?  The 
answer  is  that  the  desire  for  adult  education  grows  keener  as  the 
elementary  education  is  more  widely  spread  and  more  thorough.  A 
well-instructed  group  of  workers,  twenty- five  years  old,  will  be  eager 
for  adult  education.  An  illiterate  group,  or  a  group  numbed  by 
drink,  will  be  hostile  to  class  work.  Also,  a  group  of  half-educated 
youths,  fed  on  dogmas  and  preconceived  notions  and  picturesque 
phrases  dealing  with  catastrophic  changes  and  millennial  hopes,  will 
be  superior  to  education,  to  careful  analysis,  to  surveys  of  fact. 

A  thoughtful  paper  on  mass  education  has  been  written  by  J.  M. 
Budish,  of  the  United  Labor  Education  Committee.  He  writes  that 
the  subjects  included  in  the  curriculum  should  be  (1)  Natural  Sci- 
ences, (2)  Social  Sciences,  (3)  Cultural  Elements.  He  suggests 
that  :— 

The  shop  meeting  reaches  more  workers  than  any  other  union  activ- 
ity. About  75%  of  the  members  attend.  If  the  technique  of  the  shop  and 
the  routine  shop  problems  are  made  an  approach  to  the  study  of  the 
structure  of  the  industry  as  a  whole  and  then  of  the  inter-relation  of 
industries,  the  shop  has  become  a  "project." 

In  local  union  lectures  it  is  possible  to  reach  about  10%  of  the  union 
membership.  As  in  any  organization,  an  active  minority  of  10%  hold 
office,  work  on  committees  and  attend  business  meetings.  The  series 
of  lectures  must  at  least  at  first  be  closely  related  to  the  pressing  trade 
union  problems  of  today:  the  abuse  of  injunctions,  the  open  shop  cam- 
paign, the  shop  chairman  movement. 

The  official  journals  or  endorsed  papers  are  a  neglected  educational 
medium. 

The  W.  E.  B.  (Workers'  Education  Bureau)  should  create  pamphlets 
to  serve  as  a  basis  for  shop  and  class  room  use. 

Personal  guidance  in  reading  may  be  given  by  the  more  advanced 
students  and  by  a  librarian  as  well  as  by  teachers.  The  sense  which 
fits  reading  to  readers  must  be  enlisted  for  workers'  education.  The 
worker  must  be  taught  how  to  handle  books,  use  indexes,  select  what 
he  wants,  taught  to  digest  and  assimiliate  material  found  in  libraries. 
Bring  traveling  libraries  of  say  50  selected  volumes  into  the  shops,  the 
trade  union  meetings,  and  the  classes. 

[12] 


It  has  been  suggested  that  workers'  education  should  be  made  com- 
pulsory for  new  members,  for  apprentices,  and  for  officials.  At  best, 
this  could  only  be  done  in  certain  unions.  At  worst  there  are  possibili- 
ties of  abuse.  In  any  case,  the  suggestion  calls  for  long  consideration. 

TEACHERS 

In  Britain  the  success  of  workers'  education  was  due  to  men  like 
R.  H.  Tawney,  J.  J.  Mallon,  Arthur  Greenwood,  Alfred  Zimmern. 
The  type  is  neither  the  smart  brisk  young  tutor  who  patronizes  nor 
the  bearded  professor  who  is  dogmatic.  The  type  is  that  of  humble- 
minded  scholarship  set  in  charming  democratic  personality.  Amerir 
can  colleges  do  not  as  yet  produce  this  type  in  numbers.  The  workers' 
teacher  is  a  rare  person.  The  only  method  as  yet  used  for  finding 
him  is  to  bring  normal  school  and  university-trained  teachers  into 
contact  with  labor  groups,  and  to  winnow  out  the  teacher  who  catches 
hold.  The  balanced  qualities,  which  give  clear  exposition  and  suffer 
heckling  gladly  and  call  out  group  discussion,  can  only  be  revealed 
in  practice.  No  technique  of  normal  school  training  alone  will  pro- 
duce the  man  who  can  interpret  experience  to  a  labor  group,  although 
something  can  be  done  through  normal  classes  to  show  the  prospective 
teacher  how  material  may  be  simply  prepared,  and  presented  in  the 
method  of  group  discussion.  The  suggestion  has  been  made  that  a 
local  association  of  teachers  could  call  a  conference  of  themselves  and 
local  trade  union  leaders  on  workers'  education.  If  both  elements 
cooperated,  classes  would  be  an  immediate  result.  One  American 
teachers'  union  numbering  1 ,000  was  called  on  for  teachers  for  work- 
ers' education.  Two  persons  were  available.  But  two  are  a  begin- 
ning in  a  new  work. 

One  experiment  in  workers'  education  has  found  that  teachers 
in  secondary  schools  were  more  successful  than  university  professors. 
In  this  experiment,  the  language  used  was  simpler,  the  understanding 
of  the  group  mind  was  more  complete. 

Increasingly,  teachers  will  come  out  of  the  ranks  of  the  workers. 
Even  the  best  of  the  university  men  retain  a  methodology  and  a 
mental  habit  of  their  group,  and  insensibly  swing  workers'  education 
to  their  ideas  of  what  it  ought  to  be.  It  is  not  the  function  of  the 
educator  to  lead  labor  along  the  lines  of  his  preconceived  judgment 

C'3] 


of  the  proper  destiny  of  labor.  Rather,  it  is  his  job  to  walk  humbly 
into  that  new  world  of  experience,  conditions  and  ideas,  to  be  more 
concerned  with  discovery  than  exhortation,  more  concerned  with  the 
definition  and  interpretation  of  labor  to  itself  than  with  the  super- 
imposition  of  his  learning  or  his  policy.  The  teacher  is  the  psycho- 
analyst, revealing  by  discussion  what  the  workers  want. 

The  teacher  will  be  forced  to  use  a  new  way  of  teaching.  If  he 
does  not,  his  class  will  die  on  his  hands.  The  old  text-books  are  no 
good  for  his  group.  The  class-room  method  will  not  "work."  The 
subject  material  (of  abstract  economics,  for  instance)  will  not  hold 
attention. 

The  teacher  will  avoid  mass  meetings,  advertising  what  he  is 
going  to  do.  The  little  class  seems  lonesome  after  a  mass  meeting. 
He  will  make  his  appeal  by  pamphlets,  bulletins,  syllabi  of  courses. 
He  will  speak  to  every  sort  of  workers'  meeting.  He  will  speak  to 
trade  unions'  locals,  district  conferences,  state  federation  conferences. 
He  will  begin  his  experiment  small  in  one  place.  If  successful,  it 
will  do  much  of  its  own  advertising  and  publicity  work.  Its  students 
and  graduates  become  the  promoters  of  workers'  education.  A  regu- 
lar bulletin  or  leaflet  or  magazine  organ  will  gradually  become  neces- 
sary. 

The  lesson  will  be  slowly  learned  that  working  class  education 
costs  in  money  and  time;  especially,  that  it  must  pay  its  way  in  point 
of  adequate  compensation  for  teachers.  It  is  idle  to  hope  that  a  per- 
manent teaching  staff  of  the  right  calibre  can  be  built  on  the  tag  ends 
of  busy  people's  time,  for  which  a  nominal  fee  is  paid.  This  kind 
of  educational  work  requires  special  ability,  extended  preparation 
and  follow-up.  On  the  other  hand,  successful  experiments-  in  labor 
education  have  been  made  by  the  equal  and  enthusiastic  early  sacri- 
fices of  both  workers  and  teachers.  Only  gradually  have  the  experi- 
ments been  able  to  take  over  the  full  time  or  even  a  remunerative 
half-time  of  the  teacher.  All  such  effort  in  beginning  is  dependent 
on  a  fund  of  patient  idealism.  As  the  need  and  the  appeal  become 
clearer  it  is  probable  that  a  group  of  teachers  will  respond  in  this 
country  as  they  have  elsewhere. 

What  is  immediately  needed  is  the  asking  and  answering  of  some 
simple  questions  in  methods  of  class  procedure.  There  should  be  an 

C'4] 


exchange  of  experiences  by  teachers  of  labor.  What  presentation 
interested  the  class  ?  Can  the  social  sciences  be  presented  visually  and 
pictorially  as  the  physical  sciences  are?  How  can  graphs,  charts, 
slides,  photographs,  maps,  be  used?  Is  the  discussion  a  question  and 
answer  from  the  beginning?  Or  does  the  teacher  lead  off  for  a  half 
hour  ?  Does  the  teacher  use  his  high-school  technique  ?  Or  is  there  a 
new  and  different  technique  for  labor  education?  How  can  sound 
fact-foundations  be  laid  in  minds,  untrained,  or  weary,  or  indifferent, 
or  dreaming  of  world-revolution? 

TEXT-BOOKS 

It  is  not  by  chance  that  workers'  education  altered  the  subject- 
matter,  the  content,  of  the  teaching.  Fresh  from  first-hand  experience 
of  danger,  monotony,  and  the  workings  of  the  industrial  system,  labor 
rejects  the  abstractions  of  academic  political  economy,  and  the  purple 
chronicle  of  kings  in  history.  They  want  to  know  the  adventure  of 
the  common  man  down  the  ages.  This  means  re-writing  the  text- 
books. The  workers  are  forcing  the  experts  to  rewrite  them.  The 
secretary  of  the  British  Labor  College  writes  us  (in  November  of 
1920)  : 

"Those  experts.  We've  been  battling  with  them  for  three  months 
now,  trying  to  bully  or  cajole  them  into  Simplicity  of  Language,  Aboli- 
tion of  Technical  Treatment,  Definiteness  in  the  Statement  of  Estab- 
lished Results  of  their  Sciences,  Conciseness.  We  want  a  book  on  their 
subjects  of  150  to  200  pages.  They  want  to  supply  a  self-contained 
library,  mainly  technical,  with  ill-defined  co-ordination  of  results,  and 
precious  little  relation  to  a  continuous  unfolding  of  natural  social 
phenomena." 

Text-books  are  needed  in  all  subjects — in  technique  of  leadership, 
civic  culture,  in  American  industrial  history,  in  trade  union  and 
labor  history,  in  political  history,  in  economic  geography,  and  so  on. 
Text-books  for  American  workers'  education  have  not  been  written. 
Sound  scholarship,  simple  statement,  clear  English,  cheap  price,  are 
the  requirements.  The  probable  line  of  procedure  here  is  that  after 
discussion  the  teacher  will  draw  up  an  outline  of  his  course.  This 
outline  will  grow  into  leaflets ;  the  leaflets  into  pamphlets ;  the  pamph- 
lets into  a  text-book.  The  text-book,  then,  will  be  written  by  a 
teacher  of  workers'  classes,  and  will  be  an  answer  to  the  needs  of 
the  group. 

['51 


The  pamphlet  will  be  a  valuable  instrument  in  workers'  education, 
as  in  other  enterprises  of  social  change.  The  pamphlet  is  read  where 
the  book  is  neglected.  The  pamphlet  is  remembered  and  kept,  where 
the  newspaper  is  thrown  away  and  forgotten.  Pamphleteering  has 
been  an  unknown  art  until  Upton  Sinclair,  Scott  Nearing,  Paul 
Blanshard  and  a  few  others  began  to  discover  its  carrying  power. 
Pamphlets  are  immediately  needed  for  workers'  educational  groups 
on  such  subjects  as  "Unemployment,"  "Labor  Education  and  What 
It  Could  Mean,"  "What  Is  a  Trade  Union  College?"  "How  to  Start 
a  Trade  Union  College,"  and  on  50  other  subjects. 

At  the  end  of  this  pamphlet  will  be  found  a  list  of  books  and 
pamphlets  which  have  proved  useful  in  workers'  classes. 

What  seems  agreed  on  as  texts  immediately  needed  are  a  dynamic 
history  of  the  American  trade  union  movement;  an  American  in- 
dustrial history;  a  syllabus  on  industrial  history;  a  syllabus  on  the 
American  labor  movement;  a  text  on  workers'  education,  which  will 
contain  the  experience  of  teachers  in  presentation  of  material,  and  the 
whole  technique  of  teaching  workers'  groups. 

One  of  the  teachers  in  the  Pennsylvania  workers'  classes,  C.  J. 
Hendley,  writes  us  : — 

My  notion  of  a  labor  class  text-book  is  that  it  should  be  a  pocket  size 
volume,  containing  about  twelve  lessons  of,  say,  twenty  pages  each;  that 
it  should  be  written  in  a  style  that  would  lure  the  student  to  further 
reading;  that  it  should  contain  detailed  references  and  directions  for 
more  thorough  study;  and  that  it  should  be  developed  inductively  from 
familiar  facts  and  concrete  data  to  general  principles.  Simplicity  and 
clearness  would  be  of  paramount  importance  in  such  literature.  It 
should  be  written  with  the  unsophisticated  and  uneducated  working- 
man  kept  in  mind.  I  think  our  texts  should  treat  ostensibly  the  common- 
place problems  that  the  average  serious-minded  workman  faces  in  his 
every-day  work,  but  in  reality  introducing  him  to  great  principles  and 
ideals  of  social  and  economic  progress, — not  mere  propaganda  for  any 
particular  doctrine,  but  an  appeal  to  what  is  sanest  and  noblest  in  the 
human  mind. 

The  Ladies'  Garment  Workers  report  on  this  need: — 

The  International  was  confronted  with  the  problem  of  text-books, 
because  most  of  the  available  text-books  are  written  either  for  college  or 
high  school  students  or  for  children  in  the  elementary  schools.  To 
solve  this  problem  it  was  decided  to  have  the  teachers  prepare  pamph- 
lets on  the  subject-matter  of  their  courses.  These  are  published  by  the 

[16] 


Educational  Department  and  sold  to  members  at  a  minimum  cost.  These 
pamphlets  will  be  used  as  text-books  by  the  classes,  since  teachers  who 
have  had  experience  with  workers'  classes  are  best  fitted  to  write  text- 
books for  them. 

A  first  need  of  many  experiments  in  workers'  education  is  that  of 
an  outline  of  present-day  civilization.  The  student  wishes  to  know 
about  the  world  and  his  own  place  in  it.  He  wishes  to  know  nature 
and  human  nature, — about  climate  and  the  location  of  food,  coal, 
iron  ore,  oil,  rubber,  copper;  and  how  these  physical  features  and 
natural  resources  react  on  man  with  his  bundle  of  instincts.  The 
student  wishes  to  know  what  are  the  problems  of  today,  and  what  in- 
tellectual tools  exist  for  grappling  with  them. 

A  brave  attempt  to  make  this  outline  of  present-day  civilization  has 
been  published  by  a  group  of  Columbia  instructors.  It  is  called 
"Introduction  to  Contemporary  Civilization — A  Syllabus"  (Columbia 
University).  It  is  faulty  in  such  omissions  as  a  proper  consideration 
of  workers'  education.  The  suggested  reading  is  not  generally 
adapted  to  workers'  groups  (of  course  it  does  not  pretend  to  be). 
But  the  Syllabus  affords  a  working  answer  to  the  need  of  many 
group  leaders  in  labor  education. 


['71 


Chapter  II 
AMERICAN  EXPERIMENTS 

National  Women's  Trade  Union  League. 

A  Training  School  for  Women  Labor  Leaders  was  established 
by  the  National  Women's  Trade  Union  League  as  early  as 
1913,  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Raymond  Robins.  This  was  the 
first  labor  school  to  give  a  full  year's  training  and  field  work  to  its 
students.  The  school  is  supported  out  of  the  general  funds  of  the 
organization  with  occasional  scholarships  contributed.  The  Educa- 
tional Department  of  the  National  Women's  Trade  Union  League  en- 
deavors to  provide  training  and  an  opportunity  to  study  to  the  girl 
who  wants  to  become  an  organizer  or  active  worker  in  the  labor 
movement.  Scholarships  are  open  to  the  trade  union  woman  who 
has  had  some  actual  experience  in  the  management  of  her  own  union 
or  has  helped  to  organize  the  workers  in  her  own  trade.  The  girls 
who  attend  the  training  school  are  generally  recruited  from  two 
groups — first,  those  who  have  shown  ability  as  organizers  are  chosen 
by  their  own  organization  and  are  sent  to  the  School  on  a  scholarship 
and  they  return  to  work  with  the  union  after  completion  of  the 
course.  The  second  group  is  made  up  of  girls  who  while  at  work 
have  awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  own  capacity  for  leadership,  and 
who  write  the  school  asking  for  a  scholarship  to  enable  them  to  take 
the  training  and  gain  the  practical  experience  that  they  need. 

The  regular  term  of  training  is  twelve  months.  A  four-months' 
course  is  arranged  for  trained  organizers  who,  while  they  do  not 
need  the  field  work,  which  is  organizing  practice,  are  interested  in 
the  academic  studies.  An  allowance  of  $18  a  week  is  made  each 
student  to  cover  her  living  expenses  while  in  the  school.  The  student 
is  supposed  to  arrive  in  good  physical  condition.  The  student's  rail- 
road fare  is  paid  from  her  home  to  the  National  Office  in  Chicago, 
where  the  year's  training  is  given,  and  her  return  is  arranged  for. 

The  academic  work  includes  the  following  courses :  Industrial  His- 
tory, with  the  rise  of  labor  organizations — trade  unions,  Judicial 
Decisions  Affecting  Labor,  Trade  Agreements  in  Theory  and  Prac- 

[18] 


tice,  History  of  Women  in  Industry  and  the  Organization  Movement 
Among  Women,  Current  Events,  Social  Economics,  Public  Speak- 
ing, English,  Bookkeeping,  Typing,  Filing  and  Office  Practice,  and 
Parliamentary  Law. 

Most  of  the  classes  in  labor  history  and  public  speaking  are  con- 
ducted in  cooperation  with  the  University  of  Chicago.  Special 
courses  are  arranged  so  that  the  students  may  hear  the  leading  trade 
union  men  and  women  of  the  country. 

The  time  of  active  practice  includes  experience  in  organization 
work  of  all  kinds.  Arrangements  are  made  so  that  students  may  have 
an  opportunity  to  handle  every  type  of  work  and  every  emergency. 
The  field  work  is  done  under  the  advice  and  direction  of  competent 
leaders. 

Since  the  establishment  of  the  training  school,  although  the  number 
of  students  who  attended  the  school  was  not  large,  most  of  the 
graduates  are  now  taking  a  very  active  and  prominent  part  in  the 
different  women's  trade  union  organizations. 

The  National  Women's  Trade  Union  League  has  also  conducted 
classes  in  conjunction  with  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor,  and  the 
local  Women's  Trade  Union  League  and  with  the  cooperation  of  the 
local  Board  of  Education.  They  conducted  three  classes  last  year  in 
English,  Public  Speaking,  and  Parliamentary  Law.  The  Public 
Speaking  class  was  the  most  successful  one  with  an  average  attend- 
ance of  twenty  students.  Several  business  agents  were  members  of 
the  class.  Extensive  plans  for  next  year's  work  are  now  being  formu- 
lated. 

Alice  Henry  has  been  Secretary  of  the  Educational  Department  of 
the  National  Women's  Trade  Union  League  of  America. 

International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers. 

The  International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union  as  a  union 
has  been  "the  pioneer  in  education  in  the  labor  movement  of  America." 
But  there  had  been  many  efforts  before  its  experiment.  These  were 
not  of  the  same  character  in  aims  and  purposes,  but  attempted  to 
reach  the  same  groups.  There  were  a  Workers'  School,  the 
Workers'  Educational  League,  the  Thomas  Davidson  School,  the 

C'9] 


Bread  Winners'  or  Wage  Earners'  College,  the  Jewish  Workers' 
League,  the  Workmen's  Circle.  And  since  1906  the  Rand  School  of 
Social  Science  had  been  preparing  the  ground  in  New  York.  The 
Rand  lectures  and  classes  reached  many  persons  in  the  clothing  in- 
dustry. 

The  idea  underlying  the  educational  work  of  the  International  is 
expressed  in  the  following  statement  which  appears  in  the  announce- 
ment of  courses  given  by  the  Educational  Department: 

The  work  of  the  Educational  Department  of  the  I.  L.  G.  W.  U.  is 
based  on  a  conviction  that  the  aims  and  aspirations  of  the  workers  can 
be  realized  only  through  their  own  efforts  in  the  economic  and  educa- 
tional fields.  While  organization  gives  them  power,  education  gives 
them  the  ability  to  use  that  power  intelligently  and  effectively. 

The  courses  offered  by  the  Educational  Department  are  planned  to 
accomplish  this  aim.  While  some  of  them  are  intended  to  satisfy  the 
intellectual  and  the  emotional  needs  of  workers,  the  main  emphasis  is 
laid  on  those  which  meet  their  practical  needs.  The  problems  of  the 
labor  movement  are  analyzed  and  clarified  by  the  study  of  general 
principles  underlying  them.  In  this  way  is  it  possible  to  train  fresh 
energy,  new  experiences  and  power  for  the  service  of  the  International 
and  of  the  entire  Labor  Movement  of  America,  and  to  help  our  members 
to  achieve  their  purposes  with  the  ultimate  goal  of  living  a  full,  rich 
and  happy  life. 

A  start  was  made  when  the  1914  Cleveland  Convention  of  the 
International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union  appropriated  $1,500 
for  educational  activities.  The  International  cooperated  with  the 
Rand  School  of  Social  Science,  where  special  classes  were  organized 
for  members.  In  1915,  the  Waist  and  Dressmakers'  Union,  Local 
25  (a  local  of  the  International),  of  New  York  City,  organized  its 
own  educational  activities  and  concentrated  them  in  a  public  school 
building  under  the  name  of  Unity  Center.  The  work  was  started  in 
cooperation  with  the  New  York  Board  of  Education.  The  under- 
standing was  that  the  Board  of  Education  was  to  assign  teachers  of 
English  for  special  classes  organized  for  Garment  Workers  members 
only.  In  addition  to  that,  courses  were  arranged  on  different  subjects. 
Teachers  were  paid  by  the  Union. 

At  the  Philadelphia  Convention  of  1916  the  question  of 'labor  edu- 
cation was  more  seriously  taken  up,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  In- 
ternational appoint  a  committee  of  five,  and  that  a  fund  of  $5,000  be 

[20] 


placed  at  the  disposal  of  this  committee,  to  be  spent  for  educa- 
tional activities.  The  committee  accepted  the  plan  of  the  Waist 
Makers  and  opened  a  few  Unity  Centers,  thus  laying  a  foundation  for 
the  Workers'  University,  which  was  opened  in  the  Washington 
Irving  High  School  in  New  York.  The  work  was  directed  by  the 
committee  with  Vice-President  Fannia  M.  Cohn  as  Secretary,  and 
with  Miss  Juliet  Stuart  Poyntz  as  Educational  Director.  To  the 
Boston  Convention  in  1918,  the  Educational  Committee  presented  a 
report  of  its  accomplishments,  which  was  heartily  endorsed  by  the 
delegates  assembled.  The  General  Executive  Board  of  the  Inter- 
national Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union  was  instructed  to  spend 
$10,000  yearly  to  carry  on  the  work  of  education. 

At  present,  the  International  conducts  three  distinct  lines  of  educa- 
tional work :  the  Unity  Centers,  the  Workers'  University  and  the 
Extension  Work.  The  business  agents,  other  officers,  and  mem- 
bers of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  local  unions  attend  classes.  The 
Chicago  Convention  of  1920  appropriated  $15,000  for  these  educa- 
tional activities.  But  actually  a  larger  sum  is  expended. 

Unity  Centers 

An  important  branch  of  educational  activities  is  the  Unity  Center. 
At  present  there  are  seven  Unity  Centers  in  Public  School  Buildings 
in  the  different  parts  of  New  York  where  members  reside.  Since 
most  of  the  members  of  the  I.  L.  G.  W.  U.  are  of  foreign  birth  and 
come  from  non-English-speaking  countries,  the  study  of  English  is 
an  essential  subject  in  their  curriculum.  Therefore,  in  each  Unity 
Center  there  are  classes  in  English,  of  elementary,  intermediate,  ad- 
vanced and  high  school  grade.  The  teachers  are  assigned  by  the 
Evening  School  Department  of  the  Board  of  Education.  In  each 
Unity  Center  there  is  a  supervisor  assigned  by  the  Department 
of  Community  and  Recreation  Centers  of  the  Board  of  Education. 
These  local  supervisors  give  weekly  physical  training  lessons.  The 
International  arranges  independently  courses  on  the  Labor  Movement, 
Trade  Unionism,  and  Economics.  The  rest  of  the  curriculum  deals 
with  Health,  or  subjects  of  more  cultural  interest,  such  as  Literature, 
Music,  Art,  Educational  Films,  and  talks  on  vital  subjects.  To 
make  the  lessons  more  profitable,  the  teachers  prepare  outlines  of  each 
lesson ;  these  contain  the  topics  to  be  discussed  and  questions  designed 

[21] 


to  stimulate  further  thought.  The  outlines  are  distributed  among 
the  students,  who  preserve  them.  They  serve  to  recall  to  the  students 
the  subject-matter  discussed  in  the  class.  They  are  also  sent  to 
Local  Unions  outside  of  New  York,  with  the  hope  that  these  will 
arrange  similar  courses.  In  New  York  the  Unity  Centers  have  about 
2,000  pupils.  These  Centers  are  a  method  of  getting  large  groups  of 
workers  to  receive  instruction  in  subjects  of  importance. 

Workers'  University 

The  Workers'  University  consists  of  a  number  of  classes  conducted 
in  the  Washington  Irving  High  School  on  Saturday  afternoons  and 
Sunday  mornings.  These  classes  attract  members  of  the  International 
who  have  already  had  some  instruction  in  the  social  sciences.  The 
courses  are  of  a  more  advanced  character  and  the  teachers  are  gen- 
erally specialists  in  their  field.  The  main  emphasis  is  placed  on  social 
sciences.  As  in  the  Unity  Centers,  the  students  receive  an  outline  of 
each  lesson.  These  outlines  constitute  a  syllabus  of  the  course  and 
are  preserved  by  the  students  for  further  reference  and  study. 

The  field  of  instruction  covers  courses  in  Trade  Union  Policy, 
Current  Economic  Lite-ature,  Current  Economic  Opinion,  Current 
Labor  and  Economic  Problems,  The  Cooperative  Movement,  Econ- 
omic Geography,  Applied  Psychology  and  Logic,  Sociology,  History 
of  Civilization,  Modern  Literature  and  Public  Speaking.  Discussions 
by  specialists  are  arranged  for  the  classes  on  Current  Labor  Problems, 
such  as  on  the  Steel  Industry  and  the  Steel  Strike,  the  Coal  Mining 
Situation,  the  British  Labor  Situation  Today,  the  Shop  Steward 
Movement,  the  Plumb  Plan,  etc.  In  the  classes  in  Trade  Unionism 
special  reference  is  made  to  the  problems  of  the  International  Ladies' 
Garment  Workers'  Union. 

As  in  the  Unity  Centers,  there  is  no  cost  to  members  of  the  Inter- 
national, and  menders  of  other  unions  are  admitted  free  after 
arrangement  with  the  Union.  Practically  all  students  who  register 
complete  the  work. 

Extension  Division 

The  Extension  Division  provides  education  for  large  numbers  of 
the  membership.  It  organizes  not  only  special  classes  to  which  all 
members  are  invited,  but  also  concerts  and  other  entertainments. 

[22] 


These  are  very  popular  with  the  membership.  For  their  convenience 
many  of  the  lectures  are  given  at  the  business  meetings  of  the  various 
locals  of  the  organization.  The  subjects  are  such  as  the  Problems  of 
the  Modern  Trade  Union  with  special  reference  to  their  own  Inter- 
national, New  Tendencies  in  the  Organized  Labor  Movement  in  the 
U.  S.,  Trade  Unionism  and  Collective  Bargaining,  the  Industrial  and 
Political  Struggles  of  Organized  Labor,  the  Place  of  Organized 
Workers  in  Modern  Society,  the  Cooperative  Movement  and  Trade 
Unionism,  etc. 

Lectures  on  Health  are  given  by  physicians,  with  particular  atten- 
tion to  problems  of  home  and  shop  hygiene. 

During  strikes,  lectures  are  given  to  groups  of  organized  and  un- 
organized workers. 

The  activities  of  the  Extension  Division  are  growing.  The  Inter- 
national hopes  to  provide  educational  activities  for  every  group  of 
its  large  membership. 

In  connection  with  all  the  courses,  books  are  recommended  for 
reading  and  study  and  are  obtained  for  the  workers  by  the  Educa- 
tional Department  at  reduced  prices. 

Branches  of  the  Workers'  University  were  established  in  Cleveland 
and  Philadelphia.  By  special  arrangement,  members  of  the  Inter- 
national attend  classes  in  the  Trade  Union  College  of  Boston.  The 
Union  pays  their  fees. 

Conscious  of  the  fact  that  the  social  factor  plays  an  important  part 
in  creating  solidarity,  the  Educational  Department  organizes  con- 
certs, entertainments,  visits  to  museums,  hikes,  social  gatherings,  etc., 
for  the  students.  These  are  attended  largely  and  serve  to  bring  to- 
gether for  social  as  well  as  educational  purposes  many  members  of 
the  International.  The  International  does  not  attempt  directly  to 
satisfy  the  desire  for  music  and  drama  on  the  part  of  its  members. 
But  it  realizes  that  such  a  desire  is  very  important  and  must  be  grati- 
fied, if  the  life  of  workers  is  to  be  full  and  rich.  Arrangements  are 
therefore  made  with  the  National  Symphony  Orchestra,  the  Theatre 
Guild,  the  Jewish  Art  Theatre  and  other  similar  musical  and  dramatic 
organizations  for  reduced  price  tickets  for  the  members  of  the  Inter- 
national. 


Other  Features 

The  educational  work  is  conducted  by  the  Department  after  numer- 
ous consultations,  meetings  and  conferences  with  educational  commit- 
tees of  local  unions,  students'  councils  and  the  faculty.  In  this  way, 
the  work  is  conducted  democratically,  and  what  is  most  important,  is 
vitalized  by  being  continually  adjusted  to  meet  the  real  demands  of 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  membership. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  educational  activities  was  a  movement 
among  the  members  to  beautify  their  homes.  This  movement  cul- 
minated in  the  establishment  of  Summer  Unity  Homes. 

The  first  is  one  of  the  achievements  of  the  30,000  members  of  the 
Waist  and  Dressmakers'  Union  of  New  York,  and  was  purchased 
by  the  union  at  the  cost  of  about  $100,000.  It  is  located  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  was  known  formerly  as  the  Forest  Park  House,  a  summer 
resort  for  wealthy  people.  The  Unity  Village  contains  a  main  build- 
ing, and  twelve  adjoining  cottages,  surrounded  by  gardens  and  for- 
ests, and  equipped  with  all  the  conveniences  that  one  could  desire. 
Last  summer  500  of  the  workers  came  out  weekly. 

The  Philadelphia  Waistmakers,  an  organization  of  5,000  young 
women,  purchased  their  Unity  House  and  spent  about  $50,000  upon 
it  so  far.  In  addition,  the  Philadelphia  Waist  and  Dressmakers' 
Union  has  its  own  lunchroom,  located  in  a  building  in  the  heart  of 
the  business  section  of  the  city.  There  members  are  served  whole- 
some food  at  the  lowest  possible  price.  Like  many  other  local  garment 
unions,  it  has  a  good  library,  containing  almost  3,000  books. 

The  latest  Unity  Home  was  opened  on  June  4,  1921,  at  Midland 
Beach,  Staten  Island,  by  the  Italian  Waist  and  Dressmakers'  Union 
of  New  York. 

The  movement  among  local  unions  for  establishing  country  Unity 
Homes  is  of  practical  value.  In  the  first  place,  it  combines  the 
methods  of  the  Cooperative  Movement  with  those  of  Trade  Unions. 
It  shows  what  can  be  accomplished  in  the  cooperative  field,  if  the 
effort  is  coordinated  with  the  interests  of  trade  unions.  Furthermore, 
it  gives  an  opportunity  to  energetic  members  to  receive  a  practical 
education  in  building  and  supervising  enterprises.  Every  Unity  Home 
is  under  the  general  supervision  of  a  sub-committee  of  the  Executive 
Board. 


The  work  of  this  union  in  education  has  proved  to  be  so  sound  that 
the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Educational  Department,  Miss 
Fannia  M.  Cohn,  are  worth  recording: 

The  necessity  for  creating  the  proper  atmosphere  in  the  classrooms 
should  be  emphasized.  The  upper  and  middle  classes  appreciate  this 
fact  and  are  as  much  concerned  with  the  social  life  of  their  students  as 
with  the  academic  subjects.  We,  too,  should  be  concerned  with  it  if 
we  want  to  attract  the  younger  element. 

Once  for  all,  we  should  agree  that  workers'  education  must  be 
financed  by  workers  themselves,  either  through  their  local  or  inter- 
national unions,  by  their  central  labor  bodies,  or  partly  through  tuition 
fees.  But  in  the  main,  workers'  education  must  be  financed  by  workers. 

It  must  be  managed  and  directed  by  the  workers.  Please  do  not  mis- 
understand me.  In  no  way  do  we  exclude  teachers  and  intellectuals  who 
are  coming  over  to  our  side.  We  welcome  them  to  our  ranks.  But  in  order 
that  the  workers'  psychology  and  point  of  view  be  emphasized  every- 
where, that  the  interests  of  the  Labor  Movement  be  held  before  us  con- 
stantly, the  work  must  be  managed  by  those  in  the  movement  who  are 
qualified  to  do  so. 

This  means  that  in  addition  to  expert  teachers,  active  union  workers 
who  are  fitted  for  the  task,  will  direct  the  work.  This  dual  management 
is  very  vital  to  the  work  of  Workers'  Education.  For  this  work  re- 
quires not  merely  a  knowledge  of  education,  but  also  a  first-hand  knowl- 
edge of  labor  and  its  problems,  and  particularly  a  knowledge  of  the 
psychology  of  the  workers  among  whom  the  work  is  to  be  done.  Such 
management  can  be  coordinated  with  the  needs  of  the  Labor  Movement. 

It  is  important  that  the  teacher,  no  matter  how  qualified  he  is  to 
teach  workers,  should  not  be  left  alone  to  the  students.  The  persons 
in  charge  should  always  try  to  interpret  to  the  teachers  the  psychology, 
aims  and  aspirations  of  the  pupils, — to  acquaint  them  with  the  surround- 
ings, with  the  conditions  under  which  the  students  live  and  work,  what 
books  they  read,  where  they  derive  their  inspirations  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  students  to  help  them  understand  what 
the  teacher  has  not  made  clear. 

Academic  qualifications  are  not  the  only  essentials  which  the  teacher 
must  have  in  order  to  be  successful  in  Trade  Union  classes.  The  teach- 
ers must  be  acquainted  with  the  aims  of  the  Labor  Movement,  with  the 
daily  problems  which  it  is  called  upon  to  solve.  He  must  understand 
that  the  Movement  does  not  deal  with  theories  only,  but  mainly  with 
facts  and  conditions.  This  again  requires  the  assistance  of  a  practical 
and  intelligent  trade  unionist  who  knows  the  movement  thoroughly. 

We  realize  that  no  plan  for  organizing  educational  activities  can  be 
successful  unless  it  is  expressed  in  something  more  than  the  establish- 

05] 


ment  of  institutions  like  the  Unity  Centers  and  Workers'  University. 
The  plan  must  produce  a  mental  attitude,  which  in  turn  would  create 
a  movement  for  workers'  education  within  the  trade  union  movement. 
The  question  has  come  up  in  our  work  how  to  accomplish  this.  We 
resolved  that  the  only  way  to  make  a  success  of  our  activities  is  by 
directing  all  our  energies  and  attention  to  the  rank  and  file.  We  believe 
that  if  they  will  be  impressed  with  the  necessity  for  workers'  education, 
and  if  they  will  become  imbued  with  the  ideal  and  conviction  that 
"Knowledge  is  power,"  and  that  with  the  "Accumulation  of  knowledge 
the  world  is  theirs,"  then,  and  only  then,  will  we  be  on  the  road  to 
success. 

One  page  of  our  weekly  papers,  published  in  English,  Yiddish  and 
Italian,  is  devoted  to  the  work  of  our  Educational  Department.  These 
papers  are  sent  to  the  home  of  every  worker.  Notices  of  our  activities 
also  appear  in  the  daily  English,  Yiddish  and  Italian  press  which  is  read 
by  our  members. 

We  find  that  we  reach  our  membership  most  effectively  by  coming 
into  personal  touch  with  them.  We  try  to  stimulate  in  them  a  desire 
for  education  and  then  we  try  to  satisfy  that  desire.  We  speak  at  shop 
meetings,  which  are  held  almost  every  night,  describing  our  plan  of 
education.  We  address  business  meetings  of  the  unions.  We  arrange 
gatherings  from  time  to  time,  at  which  assemble  large  numbers  of  mem- 
bers, whom  we  try  to  interest  in  our  work.  Leaflets  and  other  literature 
are  mailed  to  their  homes. 

The  student  body  in  a  workers'  college  must  understand  that  the  benefit 
derived  from  the  time  and  effort  spent  in  education,  will  depend  not  so 
much  on  the  knowledge  received  in  the  classroom  as  upon  practical 
familiarity  with  the  labor  movement  and  upon  the  experience  derived 
from  active  participation  in  the  life  of  their  organization. 

Those  in  charge  of  labor  colleges  must  realize  that  the  hope  of  the 
labor  movement  lies  in  the  increasing  intelligence  of  the  rank  and  file. 
Education  and  information  must  be  the  cornerstone  of  the  society  of  the 
future.  It  is  the  intelligent  citizenship  in  the  unions — the  rank  and  file — 
that  will  bring  about  an  intelligent  leadership.  Hence,  it  must  be  under- 
stood that  a  workers'  college  must  organize  activities  for  every  group 
— for  those  who  know  very  little  as  well  as  those  who  are  advanced — 
for  those  who  are  the  present  leaders  or  will  be  the  future  leaders  of 
the  organization. 

The  work  of  the  Educational  Department  is  directed  by  Fannia  M. 
Cohn,  secretary,  and  Alexander  Fichandler,  educational  director. 

Local  25 

The  Ladies'   Waist  and   Dressmakers'  Union,   Local  25,   of  the 
International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union,  has  its  own  Depart- 

[26J 


ment  of  Education  and  Organization,  which  cooperates  with  the 
International.  It  was  this  local  under  Juliet  Stuart  Poyntz  which 
initiated  the  "Unity  Center"  plan  of  labor  education.  Local  25  has 
its  own  educational  director,  Elsie  Gliick.  Miss  Gliick  keeps  the  local 
in  close  touch  with  the  educational  program  of  the  International.  The 
local's  Educational  Department  carries  intensive  advocacy  of  educa- 
tion into  the  shops  and  district  meetings.  The  educational  office  is 
located  in  local  headquarters,  so  that,  as  members  pay  their  dues,  they 
can  be  approached  on  the  educational  program. 

Local  entertainment  work  includes  monthly  concerts  and  entertain- 
ments ;  unemployment  entertainments ;  and  strike  concerts  and  classes. 

The  Unity  House  of  Local  25  has  been  described  above. 
The  members  have  a  library,  containing  several  thousand  books. 
The  local  educational  work  has  always  been  closely  bound  up  with 
the  organization  work  of  the  Union. 

United  Labor  Education  Committee. 

The  initiators  of  the  United  Labor  Education  Committee  in 
1918  were  the  United  Cloth  Hat  and  Cap  Makers,  at  whose  call  all 
the  conferences  preliminary  to  the  establishment  of  the  Committee 
were  held.  Among  the  organizations  affiliated  at  the  beginning  were 
the  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  America.  They  have  recently 
separated  from  the  Committee  in  order  to  establish  their  own  educa- 
tional department. 

Although  the  impulse  for  the  Education  Committee  came  from  the 
needle  trades  unions,  the  educational  work  soon  spread  to  other 
unions.  At  the  present  writing,  thirty  labor  organizations  are  affiliated 
with  the  United  Labor  Education  Committee.  These  include  such 
organizations  as  the  Central  Trades  and  Labor  Council  of  Greater 
New  York  and  Vicinity,  the  Women's  Trade  Union  League,  the  In- 
ternational Fur  Workers'  Union,  the  Workmen's  Circle,  the  Teachers' 
Union  and  the  United  Hebrew  Trades.  Two  locals  of  the  Interna- 
tional Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union  are  cooperating  with  the  U. 
L.  E.  C.  Other  unions  affiliated  include  workers  engaged  in  the  metal 
trades,  food  industries,  clerical  and  amusement  trades. 

The  U.  L.  E.  C.,  perhaps  more  than  any  other  labor  educational 
enterprise,  has  emphasized  mass  education.  Among  the  activities  the 


U.  L.  E.  C.  arranges  for  its  affiliated  organizations  are  included :  ( 1 ) 
Lectures  at  the  local  union  meetings;  (2)  Classes  for  the  general 
membership,  for  shop  chairmen,  active  members  and  officials;  (3) 
Strike  Service  (making  use  of  the  leisure  of  strikers  for  education 
and  recreation);  (4)  Slack  service  (for  the  unemployed  during  in- 
dustrial depression);  (5)  Forums;  (6)  Recreation  Centers,  Drama, 
Educational  Moving  Pictures;  (7)  The  Committee  helps  locals  to 
arrange  their  benefit  performances  at  the  lowest  cost  and  in  order 
to  make  them  more  educational. 

To  join  the  United  Labor  Education  Committee,  an  organization 
has  to  pay  an  affiliation  fee  of  $15.00  and  monthly  dues  as  follows: 
Locals  with  a  membership  up  to  300  pay  $5  per  month ;  over  300  and 
not  over  1,000,  pay  $10;  over  1,000  pay  $10  for  the  first  thousand 
and  $5  for  every  additional  thousand  or  fraction  thereof ;  no  local  to 
pay  more  than  $40  per  month. 

Every  local  union  has  equal  rights  and  obligations  in  the  U.  L. 
E.  C.  The^  Committee  accepts  no  financial  contributions  from  in- 
dividuals nor  from  any  but  labor  organizations. 

Since  the  creation  of  the  U.  L.  E.  C.  a  total  of  over  $30,000  was 
expended  on  the  educational  work  in  New  York  City.  Courses  were 
given  by  the  Committee  in  English,  Economics,  Industrial  History, 
Socialism,  Practical  Psychology,  Reading  of  Blue  Prints,  and  History 
and  Appreciation  of  Art.  One  class  was  organized  for  trade  union 
officials  and  two  courses  on  "Contemporary  Problems"  and  on  "How 
to  Teach  Economics  in  Labor  Colleges,"  were  conducted  for  public 
school  teachers  who  had  affiliated  with  the  Committee.  In  addition 
several  classes  were  organized  in  cooperation  with  the  New  School  for 
Social  Research.  Recently  attemps  have  been  made  to  introduce  educa- 
tional work  at  the  regular  shop  meetings  of  the  affiliated  unions.  The 
most  successful  classes,  both  in  the  sense  of  regularity  in  attendance 
and  size,  were  those  held  in  the  headquarters  of  labor  organizations. 

Aside  from  its  class  work,  the  U.  L.  E.  C.  since  its  inception  has 
arranged  231  lectures  and  concerts  for  sixty  union  locals,  reaching 
a  membership  of  about  30,000.  These  lectures  were  given  in  a 
series  of  three  and  four,  so  that  the  subject  is  dealt  with  in  a  way  to 
further  substantial  knowledge.  These  union  lectures  have  proved  a 
very  important  phase  of  the  work  of  the  Committee  and  have  been 
very  successful.  During  the  time  of  its  existence,  the  U.  L.  E.  C.  also 

[28] 


conducted  ninety-seven  forums,  with  an  attendance  of  18,000  per- 
sons. In  addition  more  than  150  strike  and  unemployment  service 
meetings  were  held,  at  which  prominent  speakers  and  artists  appeared. 
Outside  of  the  activities  mentioned  above,  the  Committee  also  ar- 
ranges hikes  to  the  country,  which  are  devoted  to  the  study  of  nature. 
Visits  to  the  museums  of  art  and  natural  history  are  also  arranged 
frequently  under  the  guidance  of  instructors. 

In  the  season  of  1919-20,  the  Rand  School  of  Social  Science  co- 
operated with  the  United  Labor  Education  Committee,  by  receiving 
into  the  Rand  School  classes  at  reduced  fees  several  hundred  students 
assigned  by  the  Committee.  The  classes  were  partly  regular  classes, 
and  partly  special  classes  organized  for  the  purpose.  The  subjects 
covered  were:  American  History,  General  Modern  History,  Civics, 
Elementary  Economics,  Socialism,  Trade  Unionism,  Elementary 
Natural  Science,  and  various  grades  of  English. 

The  Committee  has  practically  divorced  their  regular  activities 
from  the  public  school  system,  and  have  concentrated  their  work  in 
the  headquarters  of  the  affiliated  organizations.  This  has  been  done 
partly  because  of  the  attitude  of  the  Board  of  Education.  The 
classes  are  all  held  in  Union  Headquarters.  The  forums  are  con- 
ducted in  the  headquarters  of  the  Workmen's  Circle  and  union  halls. 
The  public  schools  are  still  used,  however,  for  special  activities,  such 
as  concerts,  dramatic  readings,  etc. 

The  U.  L.  E.  C.'s  experience  has  been  that  classes  reach  a  very 
small  minority.  The  commercialized  "show"  and  moving  picture 
reach  a  vast  majority.  The  recreational  activities  of  the  Committee, 
connected  as  they  are  with  lectures,  are  intended  to  combat  the  in- 
fluences of  commercialized  amusement.  These  recreational  activities 
of  the  Committee  are  intended,  not  as  mass  entertainments,  but  as 
new  methods  of  mass  education.  The  Committee  believes  its  method 
can  be  used  to  make  audiences  read,  register  for  classes,  and  take  the 
first  step  in  serious  educational  work.  J.  M.  Budish,  one  of  the  early 
pioneers  in  workers'  education  and  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  con- 
tends : 

If  the  educational  movement  is  to  become  a  mass  movement  so  that 
it  may  have  a  real  influence  in  shaping  the  thought  of  the  working 
masses,  the  only  way  by  which  it  can  be  accomplished  is  by  using  some 
new  methods  of  mass  education. 

09] 


At  the  recent  meeting  of  the  Workers'  Education  Bureau  of  Amer- 
ica (W.  E.  B.)  Mr.  Budish  also  suggested  the  creation  of  a  central 
body  on  labor  education  for  the  city  of  New  York  to  replace  the 
United  Labor  Education  Committee  and  to  function  locally  as  the 
W.  E.  B.  hopes  to  function  for  a  wider  area. 

The  Cooperatives. 

The  Cooperative  Movement  conducts  three  New  York  schools. 
One  is  in  Public  School  No.  63  (150  East  4th  St.),  one  in  the  State 
Bank  Building  (5th  Ave.  and  115th  St.),  and  one  at  402  Stone  Ave., 
Brownsville. 

Cooperative  education  is  of  two  kinds.  One  is  education  on  the 
subject  of  cooperation.  The  other  is  education  by  the  method  of  con- 
sumers' cooperation. 

The  most  thorough  school  for  practical  training  of  cooperators  is 
that  held  annually  at  Superior,  Wisconsin. 

A  need  is  for  the  development  of  trained  leaders  among  the  working 
class  for  cooperation.  One  local  answer  to  this  need  has  been  the 
eight-weeks-seminar  conducted  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Warbasse  for  three  suc- 
cessive years.  It  was  held  in  1918-19  in  the  Washington  Irving  High 
School;  in  1919-20  in  the  Sage  Foundation  Building,  of  New  York, 
under  the  joint  auspices  of  the  International  Ladies'  Garment  Work- 
ers' Union  and  the  School  for  Social  Work. 

In  the  year  of  1920-21  a  course  of  15  lectures  on  the  history  and 
technique  of  cooperation  have  been  given  under  the  auspices  of 
Columbia  University.  In  New  York  there  were  given  a  series  of 
six  lectures  for  training  workers  in  the  Zionist  Movement  for  co- 
operative enterprises  in  Palestine. 

Tiie  trade  union  colleges  in  various  parts  of  the  country  give  courses 
in  cooperation. 

"Cooperation,"  the  organ  of  the  Cooperative  League  of  America, 
says : — 

Cooperation  means  that  the  consumers  organize  to  control  the  pro- 
duction and  distribution  of  the  education  which  they  want.  This  can 
be  done  if  the  students  are  adults  and  capable  of  knowing  what  they 
want.  Those  pioneer  student  bodies  which  are  working  out  this  method 
are  doing  the  most  radical  thing  that  has  been  done  in  education  since 
the  free  public  school  was  established. 

[30] 


The  three  cooperative  schools  of  Greater  New  York  (downtown, 
Harlem  and  Brownsville),  publish  a  monthly  paper  called  "Co- 
operative Education." 

The  object  of  these  New  York  consumers'  experiments  in  educa- 
tion and  the  subject-matter  place  them  outside  the  area  of  workers' 
education,  as  we  have  defined  it.  The  object  is  largely  to  fit  young 
people  to  pass  Regents'  and  college  examinations.  The  subject- 
matter  is  therefore  largely,  though  not  exclusively,  that  of  regular 
preparatory  courses. 

The  method  of  administration  is  a  pure  form  of  workers'  educa- 
tion. The  cooperative  schools  are  under  students'  control.  They 
charge  a  tuition  fee  (for  instance,  of  $5  a  month  for  five  nights  a 
week  of  three  periods).  They  use  public  and  high  school  instructors. 
The  students  administer  all  the  finances.  One  of  the  schools  has 
500  pupils,  another  300. 

Training  Executives 

The  Cooperative  Central  Exchange  at  Superior,  Wisconsin,  carries 
on  a  wholesale  business  and  conducts  a  school  for  the  education  of 
cooperative  executives.  The  Exchange  has  a  membership  of  49  dis- 
tributive societies.  This  was  the  second  year  of  the  training  course, 
which  was  begun  with  43  students.  Most  of  the  students  come  from 
Minnesota,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  The  ages  range  from  15  to  48. 
Of  the  students  of  1919,  70  per  cent  are  now  employed  in  cooperative 
stores. 

American  cooperation  has  a  "literature"  which  makes  the  task  of 
education  easier  than  in  the  political  and  trade  union  fields.  There 
are  excellent  books  on  the  history,  theory  and  practice  of  cooperation. 
There  are  useful  pamphlets.  This  material  for  cooperative  edu- 
cation is  to  be  obtained  from  the  Cooperative  League  of  America 
(2  West  13th  Street,  New  York).  There  is,  for  instance,  the  ten- 
cent  pamphlet  on  "Cooperative  Education — The  Duties  of  the  Edu- 
cational Committee  Defined."  This  pamphlet  is  so  clear  and  precise 
that  it  might  serve  as  a  model  for  publications  on  labor  information. 
Good  pamphleteering  is  one  of  the  immediate  needs  in  workers'  edu- 
cation, 


Cooperative  "Literature" 

"Cooperative  societies  can  not  be  developed  any  faster  than  people 
can  be  trained  to  run  them,"  and  to  support  them.  This  means  train- 
ing of  managers  and  executives  and  training  of  the  whole  member- 
ship. Trade  unions  also  can  not  be  developed  any  faster  than  people 
can  be  trained  to  run  them  and  to  take  over  progressively  the  functions 
of  administration  of  industry.  Education  has  long  been  accepted  as 
essential  to  success  in  cooperation.  Education  has  not  been  so  widely 
accepted  by  trade  unionists  as  essential  to  success  in  industrial 
democracy. 

The  Trade  Union  College  of  Boston. 

The  Trade  Union  College  under  the  auspices  of  the  Boston  Central 
Labor  Union  was  planned  immediately  after  the  end  of  the  war  in 
1918,  was  organized  in  January,  1919,  and  was  opened  with  a  pro- 
gram of  fourteen  courses  on  April  7,  1919.  It  was  the  first  college 
in  America  to  be  established  by  the  entire  central  labor  body  of  any 
city,  and  this  plan  inaugurated  in  Boston  has  since  then  been  followed 
in  various  other  cities.  During  the  first  term,  the  students  numbered 
only  169,  but  within  a  year  the  total  enrolment  mounted  as  high  as 
450.  At  first  the  college  was  meant  primarily  for  trade  unionists 
affiliated  with  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  and  members  of 
their  families,  but  from  the  first  all  other  workers  who  applied  were 
admitted  with  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Control,  and  the  Boston 
Central  Labor  Union  has  now  voted  to  open  the  college  to  all  wage 
workers  on  equal  terms. 

The  Board  of  Control  is  made  up  of  25  members:  15  appointed  by 
the  Central  Labor  Union,  5  elected  by  the  students,  and  5  elected  by 
the  teachers.  Since  most  of  the  students  are  regular  trade  unionists 
and  since  the  representatives  of  the  teachers  are  almost  all  members  of 
the  Teachers'  Union  and  delegates  to  the  Boston  Central  Labor  Union, 
this  means  that  the  college  is  genuinely  in  the  hands  of  the  organized 
labor  movement  of  Boston  and  is  thus  ultimately  responsible  to  a  body 
of  80,000  workers. 

The  students,  who  have  formed  a  Student  Association  of  their 
own,  are  continually  coming  to  play  a  larger  part  in  the  running  of 
their  college.  In  addition  to  the  5  regularly  elected  representatives 

[32] 


of  the  students  on  the  Board  of  Control,  almost  all  of  the  15  repre- 
sentatives appointed  by  the  Central  Labor  Union  are  or  have  been 
students  in  the  college;  so  that  the  students,  past  and  present,  have 
now  some  17  representatives  on  the  Board  of  Control  as  compared 
to  the  5  representatives  of  the  teachers.  Moreover,  in  the  various 
courses,  it  is  the  students  of  one  term  who  decide  what  aspect  of  the 
subject  and  often  what  professor  they  desire  for  the  following  term. 

The  teachers  who  have  at  one  time  or  another  given  courses  in  the 
college  number  over  50.  The  Boston  Trade  Union  College  has  been 
fortunate  in  being  able  to  draw  upon  some  of  the  best  teachers  at 
Harvard  University,  including  the  Dean  of  the  Harvard  Law  School, 
and  upon  professors  at  Wellesley,  Tufts,  Simmons,  and  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology,  as  well  as  teachers  in  the  High 
Schools  and  other  Public  Schools  of  Boston.  From  the  first  the 
insistence  has  been  made  upon  a  high  standard  of  scholarship  in  the 
teaching.  The  students  themselves  demand  this  and  it  has  been  felt 
that  in  the  long  run  the  success  of  the  college  would  depend  rather 
on  the  excellence  of  the  work  done  in  the  classroom  than  upon  any 
popular  appeal  which  might  merely  reduplicate  what  is  being  done  in 
the  innumerable  forums  already  in  existence. 

The  courses  that  have  been  most  often  chosen  by  the  students  and 
therefore  most  often  given  include  the  following  subjects: — (1) 
Writing,  divided  into  elementary,  intermediate,  and  advanced  classes 
in  composition,  to  meet  the  different  needs  ranging  from  the  workers 
of  foreign  birth  who  are  beginning  to  write  English  up  to  trade 
unionists  who  may  be  preparing  for  positions  as  secretaries  of  unions ; 
(2)  Discussion,  where  the  men  and  women  of  the  labor  movement 
receive  practice  in  public  speaking  and  debating  under  expert  guid- 
ance; (3)  Literature,  dealing  with  the  social  significance  of  the  recent 
books  and  plays  of  various  nations;  (4)  Economics,  taking  up  the 
different  theories  of  the  production,  distribution  and  consumption  of 
wealth;  (5)  Law,  with  especial  reference  to  the  law  of  contracts  and 
to  labor  legislation;  (6)  Science,  including  a  course  in  the  principles  of 
mechanics  for  machinists  and  a  course  in  food  chemistry  for  the  wives 
of  wage  earners;  (7)  Recreation,  including  gymnastics,  dancing, 
concerts,  theatrical  performances,  moving  pictures  and  any  other  social 
activities  which  the  students  may  arrange.  Other  courses  are  given 
whenever  there  is  sufficient  demand  for  them. 

[33] 


The  classes  meet  one  evening  a  week  for  two  hours,  the  first  hour 
usually  being  devoted  to  the  lecture  and  the  second  hour  being  given 
over  to  a  general  discussion  in  which  all  the  students  are  encouraged 
to  take  part.  In  many  of  the  courses  outside  reading  is  done  and 
essays  and  written  tests  handed  in,  criticised,  and  returned  to  the 
students. 

The  year's  work  in  each  of  these  courses  is  divided  into  three 
terms  of  ten  weeks  each: — (1)  the  Fall  Term,  from  October  to  De- 
cember; (2)  the  Winter  Term,  from  January  to  March;  (3)  and  the 
Spring  Term,  from  April  to  June.  Most  of  the  courses  run  con- 
tinuously through  the  three  terms,  so  that  there  are  really  30  con- 
secutive two-hour  meetings  of  each  class  throughout  the  year.  Later 
on  it  is  hoped  to  have  in  addition  a  Summer  Term  from  July  to 
September. 

The  expenses  of  the  college  consist  chiefly  of  the  printing  of  the 
little  pamphlets  giving  outlines  of  the  lectures  in  the  courses,  the 
salary  of  the  assistant  secretary,  and  the  nominal  salaries  of  $100 
which  are  paid  to  the  teachers  for  each  course  of  ten  lectures,  and 
which  have  often  been  returned  to  the  funds  of  the  college  by  such 
teachers  as  could  afford  to  do  so.  These  expenses  have  been  met  in 
three  ways:  (1)  by  the  fees  of  $2.50  paid  by  the  students  for  each 
course;  (2)  by  contributions  from  the  various  local  unions;  (3)  and 
by  individual  subscriptions  mostly  made  up  of  small  sums  from  trade 
unionists  handed  in  in  response  to  subscription  lists  circulated  in  the 
locals.  No  financial  help  from  the  State  Board  of  Education  or  from 
University  Extension  has  been  accepted.  The  trade  unionists  have 
preferred  not  only  to  control  their  own  college  but  also  to  pay  for  it 
themselves. 

The  buildings  in  which  the  classes  have  so  far  been  held  include 
the  High  School  of  Practical  Arts  in  Roxbury,  the  Abraham  Lincoln 
School,  the  English  High  School,  the  Boys'  Latin  School,  and  the 
rooms  of  the  Boston  Central  Labor  Union  and  of  other  trade  unions. 
As  soon  as  a  Labor  Lyceum  is  built  in  Boston,  it  is  hoped  to  have 
accommodation  there  for  all  the  classes.  The  Boston  Trade  Union 
College  will  then  be  able  to  depend  entirely  on  the  resources  of  the 
organized  labor  movement  itself. 

[34] 


The  Trade  Union  College  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  Trade  Union  College  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  was  organized  by 
a  number  of  trade  unionists  in  May,  1919,  at  a  meeting  called  for 
that  purpose  through  the  initiative  of  Mrs.  Annie  Riley  Hale.  The 
college  opened  in  November,  1919.  The  preamble  of  the  constitution 
of  the  college  adopted  at  the  meeting  declares : — 

It  being  the  avowed  object  of  the  Trade  Union  movement  in  the 
United  States  of  America  to  organize  in  crafts,  combine  in  councils 
and  federate  in  one  great  national  assembly  for  the  purpose  of  mutual 
protection,  assistance  and  cooperation,  which  shall  enable  its  members 
to  enjoy  a  full  share  of  the  wealth  which  they  help  to  create,  together 
with  sufficient  leisure  in  which  to  develop  their  social,  moral  and  in- 
tellectual faculties  as  well  as  the  advantages,  benefits  and  pleasures  of 
mutual  association  which  shall  enable  them  to  share  in  the  gains  and 
honors  in  this  age  of  great  development  and  civilization  in  which  we 
live. 

Now,  therefore,  We,  the  Trade  Union  delegates  in  temporary  or- 
ganization assembled,  together  with  certain  professors,  teachers  and 
college  graduates,  in  order  to  secure  for  Trade  Unionists  the  benefits  of 
a  higher  and  more  liberal  education,  as  above  desired  and  also  to  the 
end  that  we  may  attract  the  most  educated  and  intellectual  citizens  to  our 
cause,  do  hereby  declare  our  intention  to  found  a  college,  adopting  the 
following  constitution  and  by-laws,  defining,  governing,  controlling  and 
supporting  the  same. 

Active  membership  in  the  college  is  confined  to  local  unions  affiliated 
with  the  A.  F.  of  L.  The  Board  of  Directors  consists  of  thirteen 
members — comprising  the  trade  union  officers  of  the  college,  seven 
trade  union  members  elected  by  the  college,  and  two  members  elected 
by  the  instructors  of  the  college. 

Since  the  inauguration  of  the  college,  courses  were  offered  in  Eng- 
lish, Music,  Dancing,  Literature,  Mathematics,  Mechanical  Drawing, 
Economics,  History  of  the  Labor  Movement,  Elementary  Law,  Cur- 
rent Labor  Questions,  Vocational  Education,  Industrial  Hygiene,  Co- 
operation, and  Democratic  Control  of  Industry.  The  classes  are  one 
and  two  hours  in  length,  part  lecture  and  part  discussion.  The  in- 
structors are  recruited  from  the  local  schools  and  from  government 
experts. 

The  total  enrollment  of  students  was  as  follows:  First  term,  1919- 
1920,  eighty-seven;  second  term,  1919-1920,  fifty-nine;  first  term, 

[35] 


1920-1921,  seventeen;  second  term,  1920-1921,  seventeen.  The  de- 
cline in  the  student  registration  of  the  Washington  College,  is  so  far 
unique  in  the  labor  education  movement  in  this  country,  and  is  credited 
to  the  fact  that  Washington  is  not  an  industrial  city  and  to  the 
numerous  competitive  educational  and  social  institutions  in  the  city. 

Workers'  College  of  Seattle. 

The  Workers'  College  of  Seattle,  founded  in  1919,  is  under  the 
control  of  the  Central  Labor  Council.  It  is  housed  in  the  Labor 
Temple  and  pays  a  nominal  rent.  The  Central  Labor  Council  appoints 
an  educational  committee  of  seven,  representing  the  main  industrial 
groups.  The  work  is  financed  in  several  ways.  There  are  collections 
at  certain  lectures.  In  certain  courses  at  first  the  pupils  paid  tuition. 
In  other  courses  there  are  voluntary  contributions  from  the  pupils. 
A  card  system  has  also  been  used,  calling  for  periodical  contributions. 

The  Workers'  College  of  Seattle  stated  what  labor  education  seeks : 

Education  in  our  universities  and  colleges  is  essentially  capitalistic,  in 
that  it  glorifies  competition  and  seeks  to  produce  an  efficient  individual. 
Education  that  may  properly  be  called  labor  education  is  essentially 
socialistic,  in  that  it  glorifies  cooperation  and  seeks  to  produce  an  effi- 
cient social  and  industrial  order. 

The  Seattle  College  offered  courses  in  the  Trade  Union  and  Co- 
operative Movements,  Marx,  Social  Ethics,  Background  of  Euro- 
pean History,  The  American  Constitution,  The  Soviet  Constitution, 
The  Program  of  British  Labor,  Biology,  English,  Parliamentary 
Law,  etc.  There  is  no  accurate  registration  of  students  kept,  but  over 
1,000  persons  have  attended  the  lectures  since  the  inauguration  of 
the  work  of  the  college.  During  the  last  winter  there  was  an  atten- 
dance of  200  Sunday  afternoon.  The  Sunday  Evening  Forum  has 
brought  an  average  attendance  of  800. 

One  of  the  instruction  methods  used  is  that  of  resident  lecturer. 
A  visitor  is  invited  to  spend  a  month  in  Seattle  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  courses  and  lectures.  Thus  the  Seattle  college  was  able  to 
secure  the  services  of  Dr.  Henry  de  Man,  the  Belgian  labor  leader  and 
educator,  who  spent  considerable  time  at  the  Seattle  Workers'  Col- 
lege. 

Educational  conferences  are  periodically  held  with  two  delegates 
from  each  union  and  one  or  two -delegates  from  each  class.  These 

[36] 


conferences  have  acted  as  an  advisory  committee  on  education  to  the 
Central  Labor  Council,  which  in  turn  appoints  its  educational  com- 
mittee of  seven  as  the  executive. 

The  Workers'  College  has  a  dramatic  section,  which  is  an  amateur 
dramatic  society. 

In  the  first  year  of  the  Workers'  College  much  of  the  teaching  and 
much  of  the  influence  came  from  the  State  University  of  Washing- 
ton. In  the  case  of  one  or  two  of  the  professors,  this  teaching  and 
influence  were  offensive  to  the  workers.  By  the  year  1920-21  the 
Workers'  College  had  emancipated  itself  from  the  State  University, 
and  was  in  a  position  to  summon  its  own  teachers,  including  one  in 
biology  from  the  State  University. 

Rochester  Labor  College. 

The  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  in  Rochester  have  established 
a  labor  college  which  adds  many  amusement  and  recreational  features 
to  regular  class  work.  The  work  was  begun  on  a  small  scale  in  1919- 
20.  During  1920-21  classes  were  established  in  Labor  Unionism, 
Public  Speaking,  Social  Problems,  English  and  Singing.  In  addition 
successful  amusement  clubs  were  formed,  including  a  Dramatic  Club, 
and  a  Girls'  Bowling  Team. 

The  classes  in  the  labor  college  were  taught  by  the  Educational 
Director,  Paul  Blanshard,  who  is  a  former  union  organizer,  and  by  a 
professor  in  the  University  of  Rochester,  and  others.  Three  classes 
were  scheduled  in  English,  one  of  which  was  an  advanced  course. 
The  course  in  Labor  Unionism,  given  by  the  educational  director,  was 
a  course  in  the  practical  aspects  of  the  union  movement  with  par- 
ticular reference  to  the  clothing  industry  in  Rochester.  It  was  held 
every  Thursday  night  before  the  sessions  of  the  Joint  Board,  so  that 
nearly  all  leaders  of  the  union  were  reached.  In  the  class  in  Public 
Speaking  practical  parliamentary  law  was  taught  for  the  first  fifteen 
minutes  of  each  session  by  a  parliamentary  drill  in  which  each  member 
of  the  class  took  the  chair  and  was  removed  as  soon  as  he  made  a 
mistake.  Sample  subjects  for  discussion  were:  Resolved,  that  piece 
work  is  better  than  week  work  in  the  clothing  industry ;  Resolved,  that 
the  United  States  should  recognize  Soviet  Russia ;  Resolved,  that  un- 
employment insurance  is  practical  in  the  clothing  industry ;  nominating 

[37] 


speeches  for  union  officers,  speeches  to  strike  mass  meetings,  etc.  A 
union  debating  team  was  chosen  from  the  class  which  debated  an 
outside  team  on  communism. 

The  classes  were  conducted  from  November  until  April  and  aver- 
aged 20  to  25  in  attendance.  These  included  several  lecture  series 
given  by  the  educational  director  before  local  unions. 

A  weekly  paper  of  four  pages  was  published  as  part  of  the  Roch- 
ester educational  program,  and  distributed  free  to  the  clothing  shops. 
It  was  devoted  chiefly  to  union  notices  and  discussion  of  educational 
subjects.  The  paper  has  been  suspended  for  the  summer  months  and 
will  be  resumed  in  September.  The  union  also  had  a  small  library, 
which  was  a  branch  of  the  public  library  with  books  on  labor  added 
to  the  collection.  All  classes  in  the  labor  college  were  open  to  union 
members  free  of  charge. 

The  educational  work  in  Rochester  was  given  impetus  by  a  large 
weekly  forum  which  averaged  over  1,000  in  attendance.  The  forum 
was  held  in  the  union's  headquarters  and  speakers  of  national  reputa- 
tion were  often  brought  to  Rochester.  Among  the  speakers  at  these 
Friday  night  forums  were:  W.  Z.  Foster,  who  spoke  on  "The  Steel 
Strike" ;  Joseph  Schlossberg,  Secretary-Treasurer  of  the  A.  C.  W.  of 
A.,  on  "Labor  in  Europe" ;  Bishop  Paul  Jones,  on  "The  New  Leader- 
ship." Frequently  debates  replaced  the  speakers,  and  well  attended 
debates  were  held  on  such  subjects  as  "Resolved,  that  the  Church  Is 
Beneficial  to  Labor" ;  "That  the  I.  W.  W.  is  Reactionary  in  Its  Po- 
litical Philosophy";  "That  America  Should  Follow  in  the  Path  of 
Russia  and  Adopt  Communism";  etc. 

The  Friday  night  educational  forums  were  followed  by  dancing, 
but  no  union  member  was  allowed  to  dance  who  did  not  attend  the 
lecture.  The  union  is  continuing  its  educational  work  in  the  summer 
by  arranging  for  meetings  of  union  members  and  their  families  at  a 
summer  cottage.  An  elaborate  program  has  been  planned  for  next 
year  with  compulsory  classes  in  unionism  for  new  members. 

The  women,  who  constitute  a  majority  of  the  clothing  workers  of 
Rochester,  were  not  neglected.  They  had  classes  of  their  own  and 
many  social  activities  under  the  direction  of  Miss  Edith  Christenson. 
Some  of  the  topics  of  lectures  and  discussions  before  a  special  wom- 
en's group  were :  "Should  a  Woman  Obey  Her  Husband"  ?  "Should 

[38] 


a  Woman  Earn  Her  Own  Living"?  "Physical  Fitness";  "Women  and 
Clothes."  Popular  lectures  on  economic  and  social  themes  were 
given  before  union  locals  under  such  titles  as :  "How  to  Be  a 
Millionaire";  "How  to  Die  in  the  Poor  House";  "Why  Women 
Should  Be  Discontented";  "If  I  Were  Harding,"  etc. 

A  pamphlet  on  "How  the  Union  Works,"  which  describes  the 
operations  of  the  union  and  its  general  purposes,  was  prepared  by  the 
educational  department  and  distributed  through  the  shops  by  shop 
chairmen. 

The  cost  of  the  Rochester  educational  program  including  the 
weekly  paper  and  the  salary  of  the  educational  director  was  approxi- 
mately one  cent  per  member  per  week.  The  funds  were  raised  by  the 
Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  Rochester. 

One  of  the  reasons  for  the  success  of  the  Rochester  program  has 
been  the  equipment  of  the  union  building.  The  building  is  located  in 
the  heart  of  the  residence  district  of  the  workers  and  is  supplied  with 
two  large  auditoriums,  classrooms  and  adequate  offices. 

Baltimore  Labor  Class. 

The  original  educational  undertaking  in  Baltimore  was  the  Com- 
munity School  which  grew  out  of  the  Community  Church,  which 
latter  was  conducted  by  two  progressive  Episcopal  ministers.  The 
Community  School  had  classes  in  five  or  six  subjects  and  found 
Sundays  particularly  useful  for  meetings.  Some  of  the  classes  num- 
bered as  many  as  40  students,  about  equally  divided  between  men  and 
women.  This  was  altogether  the  most  important  project  among  work- 
ers which  Baltimore  has  experienced.  After  operating  for  about  a 
year  it  came  to  an  end  three  years  ago  when  the  building  in  which 
classes  were  held  was  torn  down. 

In  April,  1920,  the  Baltimore  Labor  College,  which  sought  to  obtain 
the  cooperation  of  both  the  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of 
America  and  unions  affiliated  with  the  Baltimore  Federation  of  Labor, 
started  four  classes,  using  one  of  the  downtown  buildings  of  the 
Johns  Hopkins  University  for  night  courses.  The  subjects  taught 
were :  Public  Speaking,  English,  Current  Events,  and  History  of  the 
English  Labor  Movement.  Four  instructors  were  selected  from  a 
list  of  eleven  competent  people  who  volunteered  their  services.  Classes 

[393 


numbered  about  ten  students  each.  Attendance  was  regular  for  the 
two  months  during  which  the  classes  operated.  Small  fees  were 
charged  the  students. 

The  Labor  College  stopped  for  the  summer  and  the  work  was  re- 
sumed in  the  fall  by  the  Educational  Committee  of  the  Joint  Board 
of  the  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  America.  The  clothing 
trade  was  much  depressed  and  it  was  possible  to  start  only  one  class, 
taught  by  Dr.  Broadus  Mitchell,  of  Johns  Hopkins  University. 
Current  Events  seemed  the  best  choice  in  subject-matter.  It  had  a 
regular  attendance  of  fifteen,  two-thirds  women  and  one-third  men, 
not  all  of  whom,  however,  were  members  of  the  Amalgamated.  It 
met  in  the  Progressive  Labor  Lyceum,  convenient  to  the  homes  of 
the  students,  on  Saturday  nights  from  8  to  9.30,  from  October  to 
April,  inclusive.  Half  of  the  period  has  been  given  to  statement  by 
the  instructor  and  the  other  half  to  discussion.  The  discussion,  states 
Dr.  Mitchell,  has  developed  not  only  valuable  contribution  of  fact  but 
useful  points  of  view.  The  students  have  been  astonishingly  regular 
in  attendance,  were  not  deterred  by  the  worst  weather,  and  seemed 
never  to  want  a  holiday.  There  has  been  no  charge  of  any  kind. 

Next  session  it  is  hoped  to  inaugurate  two  new  classes,  one  in 
Modern  Literature,  and  another  in  General  Science.  These  will  be 
helpful,  it  is  suggested,  in  contributing,  the  one,  cultural  training,  and 
the  other,  familiarity  with  objective  examination,  which  is  important 
for  workers. 

The  class  this  winter  has  been  conducted  with  entire  informality 
and  anything  done  has  been  at  the  instance  of  the  whole  group. 

The  Department  of  Education 

of  the  Pennsylvania  Federation  of  Labor. 

The  Pennsylvania  Labor  Education  Committee  was  organized  at 
the  Altoona  convention  of  the  Pennsylvania  Federation  of  Labor  in 
May,  1920.  An  Executive  Committee  of  fifty  labor  representatives 
throughout  the  State  was  elected  at  that  time,  J.  R.  Copenhaver 
(machinist)  and  A.  Epstein  were  elected  Chairman  and  General 
Secretary,  respectively.  Shortly  afterward,  the  Committee  was  con- 
verted into  the  Department  of  Education  of  the  Pennsylvania  Federa- 
tion of  Labor,  with  President  James  H.  Maurer  acting  as  Advisor. 

[40] 


Although  the  convention  passed  several  resolutions  urging  the  in- 
auguration of  educational  work  in  the  State,  no  definite  fund  was 
appropriated  for  this  work. 

Despite  the  lack  of  money,  the  1920-21  season  opened  with  regular 
trade  union  colleges  in  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh  and  labor  classes 
in  Allentown,  Bethlehem,  Harrisburg,  Lancaster,  Pen  Argyl,  Potts- 
ville  and  Reading. 

The  Philadelphia  Trade  Union  College. 

The  Philadelphia  Trade  Union  College  was  organized  in  June, 
1920,  by  a  number  of  trade  union  representatives  of  that  city.  The 
college  is  under  the  control  of  a  board  of  trustees  composed  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  different  unions  and  elected  by  all  the  affiliated  unions. 
An  affiliation  fee  of  ten  dollars  is  charged  each  local  union.  Approxi- 
mately forty  organizations  affiliated  with  the  college  during  the  first 
year.  The  instructors  are  recruited  from  the  more  liberal  and  sym- 
pathetic members  of  the  faculties  of  the  local  universities. 

During  the  winter  of  1920-21,  the  Philadelphia  Trade  Union  Col- 
lege gave  courses  in  Labor  and  Industry,  Labor  and  the  Law,  Plan 
Reading,  and  Public  Speaking.  A  course  in  English  was  also  given 
during  the  season.  The  total  enrollment  of  students  was  ninety,  with 
a  regular  attendance  of  about  fifty.  A  fee  of  two  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  was  charged  each  student  per  course  of  ten  weeks.  All  classes 
were  held  in  union  halls. 

The  Pittsburgh  Trade  Union  College. 

The  Pittsburgh  Trade  Union  College  was  organized  early  in  July, 
1920,  at  a  meeting  of  a  number  of  trade  union  representatives  called 
for  that  purpose  by  the  Pennsylvania  Labor  Education  Committee. 
As  in  Philadelphia,  the  college  is  under  the  control  of  a  board  of 
trustees  composed  of  representatives  of  local  unions.  The  funds 
were  raised  by  contributions  from  the  Central  Labor  Union  and  local 
unions  and  a  fee  of  two  dollars  per  course  was  charged  each  student. 
The  instructors  here,  as  in  Philadelphia,  are  recruited  from  the  uni- 
versities. 

The  total  enrollment  of  students  during  the  1920-21  session  was 
sixty,  while  the  average  regular  attendance  was  about  forty.  The 
Pittsburgh  Central  Labor  Union,  which  in  the  beginning  held  itself 

[4'] 


aloof  from  (and  looked  down  with  suspicion  upon)  the  work  of  the 
college  in  that  city,  is  now  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  movement 
and  it  is  expected  that  next  year  it  will  finance  considerably  the  work 
of  the  school.  The  courses  given  by  the  Pittsburgh  College  included 
Economics,  History  of  the  Labor  Movement,  Industrial  Problems  and 
Literature. 

The  Workers'  Educational  Classes 

in  the  Smaller  Cities  in  Pennsylvania. 

The  Pennsylvania  Labor  Education  Committee  and  its  general 
secretary,  A.  Epstein,  undertook  work  in  the  smaller  cities  of  the 
State.  Here  new  ground  was  broken  and  new  methods  of  organi- 
zation devised.  In  these  cities,  local  part-time  teachers  who  were 
capable  and  who  were  sufficiently  in  sympathy  with  the  movement  to 
teach  in  workers'  schools  were  not  available.  There  was  only  one 
thing  to  be  done  and  that  was  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  several 
nearby  cities  which,  on  a  cooperative  basis,  would  employ  a  full-time 
instructor  to  give  one  lesson  a  week  in  each  city.  To  do  this  it  was 
necessary  to  enroll  the  aid  of  at  least  five  or  six  nearby  towns. 

An  intensive  campaign  for  labor  education  was  carried  on  during 
the  summer  and  fall  of  1920,  and  the  1920-21  season  opened  with 
classes  in  Allentown,  Bethlehem,  Harrisburg,  Lancaster,  Pen  Argyl, 
Pottsville  and  Reading.  A  full-time  teacher,  Charles  J.  Hendley, 
who  was  stationed  in  this  district,  met  one  class  a  week  in  each  of 
these  towns.  The  course  consisted  of  twenty-six  weekly  lessons  cover- 
ing: The  Evolution  of  Industry,  The  Social  and  Economic  Conse- 
quences of  the  Industrial  Revolution,  The  Problems  of  the  City,  State 
and  National  Government  as  a  Result  of  the  Industrial  Changes,  The 
Legal  Position  of  the  Corporations  and  Trade  Unions,  The  Reforms 
Proposed  Through  Social  Legislation,  The  History  and  Present 
Status  of  Jthe  Labor  Movement.  A  few  lectures  were  devoted  to 
modern  movements  for  industrial  progress,  as:  The  Single  Tax,  The 
Co-operative  Movement,  Socialism,  etc.  Each  course  lasted  for  two 
hours  and  consisted  not  only  of  lectures  but  also  of  readings,  digests, 
or  reports  on  readings  by  students  before  the  class,  as  well  as  quizzes 
and  discussion. 

The  work  in  these  towns  was  financed  entirely  by  the  central  labor 
unions  and  local  unions.  No  fee  was  charged  the  individual  student. 

[42] 


The  response  of  some  local  unions  has  been  exceedingly  encouraging. 
A  number  have  contributed  as  much  as  $100  each.  In  the  beginning 
most  classes  met  in  schoolrooms,  but  gradually  the  use  of  some  of 
these  rooms  was  refused  by  the  school  boards,  although  not  a  single 
charge  was  ever  brought  against  any  of  the  students  or  instructors. 
A  few  classes,  however,  continued  to  meet  in  schoolrooms. 

On  April  1,  1921,  there  were  a  total  of  338  students  enrolled  in 
nine  cities  in  Pennsylvania,  with  an  average  attendance  of  197. 
Reports  on  138  books  were  read  by  the  students  before  the  classes, 
the  great  majority  of  which,  the  teachers  say,  were  of  high  grade. 
The  338  students  mentioned  above  include  only  those  who  have  at- 
tended the  classes  at  least  three  times  during  the  season.  About  150 
more  have  attended  the  classes  less  than  three  times.  The  percentage 
of  regular  attendance  as  compared  with  the  total  enrollment  was 
fifty-nine. 

At  the  latest  convention  of  the  Pennsylvania  Federation  of  Labor, 
held  in  May,  1921,  in  Harrisburg,  James  H.  Maurer,  President 
of  the  Federation,  presented  a  comprehensive  report  on  the  Workers' 
Educational  Classes  in  Pennsylvania,  summarizing  the  work  that  has 
been  accomplished  during  the  past  year  and  recommended  to  the  con- 
vention that  the  delegates,  "by  appropriate  resolution,  empower  and 
instruct  your  executive  committee  to  formulate  such  plans,  adopt  such 
measures  and  policies  and  use  so  much  of  the  Federation  funds  as  in 
their  wisdom  will  best  promote  the  success  of  this  important  work." 
A  resolution  to  that  effect  was  introduced  and  was  unanimously 
adopted  by  the  delegates. 

The  Trade  Union  College  of  Greater  New  York. 

The  Trade  Union  College  of  Greater  New  York  was  organized  in 
the  spring  of  1920  under  the  auspices  of  a  number  of  local  unions  in 
New  York  City.  The  college  received  the  endorsement  of  such 
organizations  as  the  Machinists'  District  Council  No.  15,  the  New 
York  Harbor  Council  of  Railway  and  Steamship  Clerks  and  the 
Allied  Printing  Trades  Council.  The  object  of  the  college  is: 

To  provide  educational  opportunities  for  those  who  work  for  a  living, 
by  establishing  lecture  and  study  courses,  or  by  such  other  means  as 
may  be  deemed  practicable. 

[43] 


Active  membership  of  the  College  is  open  to  any  local  union  con- 
ditioned upon  approval  of  the  Board  of  Directors.  This  Board  is 
made  up  of  fifteen  members  consisting  of  (a)  the  officers  of  the 
college,  (b)  seven  members  elected  by  the  College  Council  and  (c) 
four  members  elected  by  the  faculty  of  the  college.  The  affiliation 
fee  is  ten  dollars  per  annum. 

The  school  conducted  two  classes  in  1920-21 — one  in  English  and 
the  other  in  Law  in  its  Relation  to  the  Trade  Unions.  The  summer 
session  had  a  total  registration  of  twenty-eight,  and  the  winter  season 
of  thirty-six  students.  The  students  paid  $2.50  each  per  course  of 
ten  lectures.  The  classes  were  held  in  a  public  schoolroom. 

Mrs.  Annie  Riley  Hale,  whom  we  have  mentioned  in  the  experiment 
of  Washington,  D.  C.,  was  an  initiator  of  this  New  York  Trade 
Union  College. 

Amherst  Classes  for  Workers. 

Amherst  College,  under  the  leadership  of  Walton  H.  Hamilton 
and  F.  S.  May,  undertook  to  organize  classes  for  workers  under  the 
joint  auspices  of  the  College  and  certain  labor  groups  as 

an  expression  of  the  belief  that  an  opportunity  for  liberal  education 
should  be  open  to  all  who  feel  the  need  of  it.  They  (the  classes)  estab- 
lish a  working  connection  between  Amherst  College  and  the  group  of 
working  men  and  women  in  its  vicinity,  so  that  each  may  offer  to  the 
other  the  wisdom  that  has  been  gained  through  its  experience,  and  the 
joint  product  applied  to  the  solution  of  problems  that  are  common  to  all 
of  us. 

Classes  were  opened  October,  1920,  in  Springfield  and  Holyoke, 
Mass.  The  instruction  is  given  by  members  of  the  faculty.  The 
Executive  Board  consists  of  thirteen  members,  nine  of  whom  are 
members  of  trade  unions,  and  four  represent  the  college.  The  funds 
are  raised  from  a  fee  of  two  dollars  charged  each  student  per  course. 
But  the  actual  financial  support  comes  from  the  college  and  from  a 
grant  by  the  Commonwealth  Fund  of  New  York. 

The  courses  given  during  the  past  year  were:  Current  Economic 
Problems,  and  Trade  Union  Problems.  The  total  enrollment  was 
forty-five.  One  class  met  in  a  Public  School,  one  in  a  trade  union 
hall. 

[44] 


Workers'  University,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

The  first  season  of  educational  activity  for  the  International  Gar- 
ment Workers  of  Cleveland  began  November  1,  1920.  The  Board  of 
Education  paid  four  instructors:  English,  Gymnasium,  Pianist,  and 
instructor  in  History  of  the  Labor  Movement.  The  Garment  Workers 
exercised  complete  jurisdiction  over  the  planning  of  courses  and  the 
selection  of  teachers.  Classes  were  conducted  at  the  Headquarters  of 
the  Union  although  public  school  buildings  were  available.  A  large 
auditorium  in  an  adjoining  club  house  served  for  gymnasium  practice, 
motion  pictures,  lectures  and  large  meetings. 

Recognizing  the  psychological  value  of  the  short  term  in  stimulat- 
ing interest,  courses  were  planned  on  the  basis  of  six  weeks  to  a  term. 
At  the  end  of  this  period,  all  the  courses  originally  planned  were  con- 
tinued on  request.  The  subjects  offered  were :  English,  History  of 
the  American  Labor  Movement,  Economics,  History  of  Society, 
Modern  Drama;  Health:  Personal  Hygiene,  Home  Nursing,  Shop 
Sanitation,  Gymnasium,  and  through  the  generous  contribution  of  a 
sympathizer,  a  circulating  and  reference  library  was  conducted  with 
the  cooperation  of  the  local  public  library  which  loaned  books. 

There  was  no  stipulated  Budget  for  the  Educational  Department. 
The  salary  of  the  educational  director,  plus  the  cost  of  stationery, 
printing  and  postage  represented  the  average  monthly  expenditure. 
The  work  was  practically  carried  on  by  volunteer  instruction. 

Publicity  was  secured  through  the  usual  channels:  newspapers, 
printed  and  verbal  announcements,  dodgers,  posters  and  personal 
communications. 

An  Educational  Committee  representing  two  members  from  each 
shop  was  at  first  organized  to  assist  in  shaping  policy,  advertising 
classes  and  conducting  the  follow-up  work  among  students  who 
dropped  out.  Subsequently  the  union  voted  to  transfer  this  function 
to  the  Executive  Committee  of  one  local  which  had  taken  initiative 
in  educational  activities.  Two-thirds  of  the  members  on  this  Com- 
mittee attended  courses  and  were  therefore,  in  a  sense,  representative 
of  the  student  body.  Expediency  dictated  this  arrangement  which 
was  not  intended  to  stand  as  a  policy.  Regular  meetings  of  the  Com- 
mittee were  held  every  two  weeks,  and  students  entertained  the 
general  membership  one  Sunday  afternoon  each  month. 

[45] 


An  effort  was  made  to  obtain  the  cooperation  of  the  Central  Labor 
Body  to  organize  a  Central  Labor  College  for  all  organized  workers 
in  Cleveland. 

The  Educational  work  of  the  Cleveland  Garment  Workers  is  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Educational  Department  of  the  International 
Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union. 

The  Department  of  Education  of  the 

Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  America. 

The  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  America  has  had  a  leading 
part  in  workers'  education  in  America  since  its  birth  in  1914.  The 
value  of  education  for  the  largest  possible  number  of  its  membership 
was  duly  emphasized  at  the  very  inception  of  the  organization.  And 
since  then  no  opportunity  was  missed  to  further  educational  activities 
in  the  organization.  Before  it  was  one  year  old,  elaborate  plans  of 
both  extensive  and  intensive  educational  activities  were  formulated  by 
the  administration  of  the  union.  Reporting  to  the  Second  Biennial 
Convention,  in  the  spring  of  1916,  the  General  Executive  Board  stated 
the  position  of  the  union  in  the  matter  of  education  in  unmistakable 
terms.  Education  is  considered  to  be  the  very  backbone  of  the  life 
of  the  organization,  the  promise  of  its  future.  It  declared : 

It  is  not  enough  ...  to  merely  organize  the  workers.  Organiza- 
tion in  itself  is  no  end  and  has  no  meaning.  ...  If  we  content  our- 
selves with  that  and  make  no  effort  at  higher  elevation  we  simply 
confirm  the  worker  in  the  status  of  a  biped  beast  of  burden.  .  .  . 
Material  improvements  are  in  the  very  nature  of  things  of  primary  im- 
portance. But  when  the  body  of  the  worker  is  more  rested  and  better 
fed,  his  intellect  should  likewise  be  taken  care  of  ... 

A  report  submitted  to  the  Third  Biennial  Convention  reiterated : 

It  is  our  intention  to  make  education  work  a  permanent  feature  of  our 
organization. 

A  resolution  declaring  that 

It  is  important  that  a  spiritual  atmosphere  should  be  created  among 
our  members  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  out  the  best  that  is  in  them, 

instructed  the  General  Office 

to  endeavor  to  the  best  of  their  ability  to  establish  libraries  and  reading 
rooms  in  all  clothing  centers  where  conditions  will  permit  so  as  to  enable 
our  members  to  enjoy  their  spare  time  in  a  wholesome  atmosphere  among 
their  fellow  workers. 

[46] 


The  Boston  Convention  finally  decided  for  the  establishment  of  a 
National  Educational  Department  to  be  located  at  the  General  Office, 
with  an  Educational  Director  in  charge  of  such  department.  The 
resolution  Covering  the  subject  and  unanimously  adopted  reads: 

Whereas,  education  is  the  basis  of  permanent  and  responsible  or- 
ganization among  the  workers,  and 

Whereas,  the  crystallization  of  the  class  consciousness  of  the  work- 
ers is  only  possible  through  the  education  of  the  workers,  be  it 

Resolved,  that  a  special  educational  department  be  organized  as  a 
part  of  the  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  America  with  an  educa- 
tional director,  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  that  the  object  of  this  educational  department  be  to  create 
educational  machinery  in  every  industrial  center,  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  that  the  educational  department  establish  relations  with 
national  and  international  bureaus  of  education  and  with  libraries  and 
other  institutions  akin  to  its  own  purpose  and  intents. 

The  Department  of  Education  of  the  A.  C.  W.  of  A.  was  started 
early  in  the  fall  of  1920  with  J.  B.  Salutsky  as  National  Director,  Mr. 
Paul  Blanshard,  Regional  Director  for  Rochester  and  territory;  and 
David  J.  Saposs,  Educational  Director  for  Greater  New  York.  The 
National  Director  visited  a  number  of  large  centers  and  extensive 
plans  for  local  activities  were  worked  out.  Unfortunately,  unemploy- 
ment and  a  lock-out  of  the  clothing  workers,  which  affected  nearly 
100,000  members  of  the  Amalgamated  in  New  York,  Baltimore,  Bos- 
ton and  Philadelphia,  upset  the  entire  program  of  education  of  the 
Amalgamated  during  1920-21.  Very  little  work  could  therefore  be 
done  in  New  York  and  Boston,  the  two  cities  most  affected  by  the 
lockout.  The  work  done  in  Rochester,  Baltimore  and  Chicago  is 
described  elsewhere  in  this  pamphlet. 

The  educational  work  actually  carried  on  by  the  Amalgamated  in 
New  York  may  be  summed  up  as  follows : 

1.  Mass-lectures  were  given  in  several  districts  of  the  Greater  City. 
In  some  cases  the  lectures  were  illustrated  with  stereopticon  views,  pre- 
pared for  the  organization.     In  the  Brownsville  and  Williamsburg  dis- 
tricts the   attendance  was   particularly  large  and  members  would  turn 
out  with  their  families,  the  evenings  set  for  the  lectures  having  rapidly 
become  an  event  in  their  social  life. 

2.  A  considerable  number  of  local  unions,  among  them  many  of  the 
largest,  had  special  lectures  given  before  their  meetings  would  take  up 
business.     In  most  cases  the  local  lectures  would  be  followed  by  dis- 
cussion. 

[47] 


3.  In  several  Public  Schools  courses  of  English  were  instituted,  the 
teachers  having  been  supplied  by  the  Public  School  system.   Study  classes 
in   other   subjects   were   to   be   started  but   difficulties  with   the   school 
authorities  regarding  the  subjects  and  the  language  of  instruction  had 
delayed  the  matter,  and  then  the  lockout  made  practically  impossible  any 
systematic  work. 

4.  The  Union  had  also  established  a  number  of  scholarships  for  its 
members  at  the  Rand  School  of  Social  Science.    Twenty-eight  part  time 
students  enrolled   for  a  study  under  a  curriculum  worked  out  by  the 
Union  and  the  Faculty  of  the  School.    The  students  paid  one  half  of  the 
tuition,  the  Union  paying  for  the  second  half. 

5._  Later  in  the  season  a  temporary  Day  Labor  College  was  estab- 
lished for  sufficiently  advanced  students  out  of  the  ranks  of  the  strikers. 
Thirty-five  passed  the  requirements  of  the  Board  of  the  College.  Instruc- 
tion was  given  daily  with  Mr.  Saposs  and  Solon  De  Leon  in  charge. 
Classes  were  opened  on  January  17th  and  work  went  on  for  nearly  two 
months,  when  a  considerable  number  of  settlements  of  strikes  took  away 
their  forced  leisure  from  the  students. 

The  courses  offered  were  as  follows :  History  of  Civilization,  Public 
Speaking,  Working  Class  Movements,  and  Economics. 

An  Amalgamated  Active  Workers'  Club  was  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  the  officials  of  the  organization  and  the  members 
of  all  standing  governing  and  legislatory  committees  to  take  up  self- 
educational  work.  The  members  of  the  A.  C.  W.  of  A.  get  together  as 
often  as  possible  for  discussion  of  important  problems  of  a  larger 
calibre. 

The  Educational  Department  has  also  taken  up  the  publication  of 
books  and  pamphlets  to  meet  educational  needs.  The  following  four 
pamphlets  have  been  produced  and  to  a  large  extent  sold  and  dis- 
tributed : 

1.  The  Rise  of  the  Clothing  Workers,  by  Joseph  Schlossberg. 

2.  Problems  of  Labor  Organization,  by  Joseph  Schlossberg. 

3.  Latest  Developments  in  Trade  Unionism,  by  George  Soule. 

4.  27  Questions  and  Answers  on  the  Open  Shop  Movement,  by  Paul 
Blanshard. 

In  preparation  are  at  present  a  few  more  pamphlets  of  the  Educa- 
tional Series,  mostly  32-page  booklets,  and  two  larger  works — one 
being  an  analytical  History  of  the  Lockout  in  New  York,  and  the 
other,  An  Amalgamated  Labor  Alamanac  or  Year  Book. 

[48] 


At  the  recent  meeting  of  the  Workers'  Education  Bureau  of  Amer- 
ica, Joseph  Schlossberg,  Secretary-Treasurer  of  the  A.  C.  W.  of  A., 
declared  that  labor  education  must  embody  the  following  principles : 

1.  Simple  agitation,  leading  to  organization. 

2.  An   understanding   of   the   play   of   social    forces   compelling   the 
formation  of  a  trade  union. 

3.  Education  on   relations  with  the   employers,   on  responsibility  of 
the  officers  and  the  members  to  the  organization. 

4.  Education  to  understand  that  the  labor  organization  to   function 
successfully  must   adapt   itself  to  changes   in   industry,   that   the   craft 
union  must  become  an  industrial  organization. 

5.  Education  on  the  fact  that  the  labor  organization  is  hampered  in 
its  legal  activities  by  the  political  agencies  of  society;  by  the  lawmakers 
and  other  public  officials. 

6.  Education  upon  the  great  social  problem,  the  cause  of  the  raging 
class  struggle  and  the  final  aim  of  the  labor  movement. 

The  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  America  have  also  carried 
on  separate  educational  work  for  their  own  members  in  Chicago.  A 
number  of  courses  were  given  to  selected  groups,  arranged  according 
to  the  interests  in  the  subject-matter,  preparation  for  study,  etc.  The 
courses  included  English,  Arithmetic,  Public  Speaking,  Elementary 
Law,  Trade  Unions,  Cooperative  Movement,  Movement  of  Thought 
in  the  19th  Century,  Modern  Literature,  Social  Hygiene  as  well  as 
classes  in  dancing  and  dramatic  art  clubs.  Teachers  in  the  Chicago 
Study  Classes  of  the  Amalgamated  included  such  men  as  Professor 
James  H.  Tufts,  Head  of  the  Department  of  Philosophy  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  and  Professor  F.  S.  Deibler  of  Northwestern 
University.  Madame  Lomonossoff  was  in  charge  of  the  educational 
activities.  All  classes  were  conducted  at  the  Home  Building  of  the 
Union.  The  concerts  and  entertainments  which  were  given  during 
1920-21  proved  highly  successful. 

Workers'  College  of  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

The  Workers'  College  of  Minneapolis  was  organized  on  January 
1,  1921,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Minneapolis  Trade  and  Labor 
Assembly.  Unlike  most  labor  colleges,  representation  on  the  Board 
of  Control  of  the  Minneapolis  Workers'  College  is  given  to  "all 
working  class  organizations — Socialist  Party,  I.  W.  W.,  etc."  The 
college  has  an  advisory  committee  composed  of  all  interested  persons 

[49] 


and  includes  ministers  of  the  gospel,  college  professors,  etc.  The 
funds  are  raised  from  contributions  of  local  unions  and  from  student 
fees  which  range  from  three  to  five  dollars  per  course. 

The  college  opened  its  season  with  an  enrollment  of  162  students. 
During  the  last  term  courses  were  given  in  English,  Public  Speaking, 
Sociology,  Economics,  History,  and  Current  Events.  The  most  popu- 
lar courses  were  English,  Public  Speaking  and  History. 

Next  year  it  is  planned  to  start  the  work  of  the  college  early  in 
the  fall,  with  double  the  number  of  courses.  A  new  Board  of  Con- 
trol of  representatives  from  over  thirty  unions  was  recently  elected 
and  it  is  now  proposed  that  every  local  union  contribute  to  the  school 
every  month  a  sum  equal  to  one  cent  per  member.  This  suggestion  is 
made  largely  for  two  reasons:  first,  it  distributes  the  burden  in  an 
equitable  manner  among  all  union  members,  and  secondly,  it  assures 
a  steady  income. 

St.  Paul  Labor  College,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

The  St.  Paul  Labor  College  was  established  on  January  1,  1921. 
The  college  is  under  the  control  of  the  Trades  and  Labor  Assembly  of 
that  city.  The  total  enrollment  for  the  year  1921  was  about  100. 
The  tuition  fee  was  $4  per  course.  Courses  were  offered  in  English, 
Public  Speaking,  and  the  History  of  the  Labor  Movement.  The 
latter  course,  a  series  of  free  lectures,  was  given  on  Sunday  afternoons. 
It  is  significant  that  it  was  the  most  popular  course,  having  an  average 
regular  attendance  of  40  students.  Each  course  continued  for  14 
weeks.  Classes  usually  met  in  labor  halls.  One  class  used  a  public 
library  room  for  which  no  rent  was  paid.  A  newspaper  editor,  a  high 
school  teacher,  a  prominent  attorney  and  a  college  professor  were  the 
instructors. 

For  the  summer,  the  students  had,  of  their  own  initiative,  organized 
an  Economic  Study  Club  which  chooses  a  different  member  of  the 
class  as  teacher  at  each  meeting.  The  Club  uses  Henry  Clay's  "Econ- 
omics for  the  General  Reader"  and  the  class  outlines  of  the  educational 
department  of  the  International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union,  as 
guides  for  discussion.  The  class  is  limited  to  twenty  members. 
It  will  be  interesting  to  watch  this  experiment  of  a  class  without  a 
teacher. 


SCHOOLS  ON  A  SPECIAL  BASIS 

The  Rand  School. 

The  Rand  School  of  Social  Science  in  New  York  is  "an  autono- 
mously organized  educational  auxiliary  to  the  Socialist  and  Labor 
movements  of  the  United  States.  It  is  owned  by  the  American 
Socialist  Society."  Its  affairs  are  conducted  under  the  control  of  an 
annually  elected  Board  of  Directors  of  nine  members. 

Detailed  execution  of  approved  plans  of  the  Board  rests  with  the 
Educational  Director  and  the  Secretary  of  the  School.  They  and  the 
Board  of  Directors  of  the  American  Socialist  Society  are  assisted  by 
an  Educational  Council,  composed  of  five  regular  instructors,  two  of 
the  administrative  staff,  and  two  student  delegates.  This  body  meets 
three  or  four  times  a  month  and  to  a  large  extent  is  given  a  free  hand 
in  planning  courses,  choosing  teachers,  and  carrying  into  effect  the 
policies  of  the  Board  of  Directors. 

During  each  of  the  last  four  years  (1918-1921)  the  total  number 
of  students  has  ranged  from  three  to  five  thousand. 

Total  figures  such  as  those  have  little  definite  meaning.  Of  the 
pupils  included  in  the  totals  given,  many  attend  only  one  or  two 
courses  of  six  to  twelve  lectures  each;  a  few  (from  twelve  to  thirty 
students  a  year)  give  practically  their  whole  time  to  study  for  six 
months;  several  hundred  take  up  courses  which  aggregate  from 
seventy  to  one  hundred  sessions  in  the  year. 

There  is  a  training  course  for  making  workers  efficient  for  the 
Socialist  Party,  the  Trade  Unions  and  the  Cooperatives.  This  course 
is  taken  by  a  group  who  give  full  time  for  six  months.  Many  of 
these,  after  graduation,  become  labor  secretaries,  organizers  and 
editors. 

There  is  also  a  training  course  designed  especially  for  residents  of 
New  York,  in  which  students  attend  four  or  five  sessions  a  week, 
evenings  and  Saturday  and  Sunday  afternoons,  for  eighteen  months. 

The  detailed  schedule  of  courses  for  the  year  1920-21  includes 
Economics,  Political  Science,  General  and  Economic  History,  Anthro- 
pology, Sociology,  Criminology,  Socialismi  Trade  Unionism,  Coopera- 
tion, Industrial  Problems,  Education,  Logic  and  Psychology,  Ethics, 
Statistics  and  Research,  Accounting,  Bookkeeping,  Secretarial  Work, 

[5'J 


Public  Speaking,  English  Composition  and  Literary  Criticism,  Mod- 
ern Drama,  and  Modern  Poetry.  As  a  glance  shows,  these  subjects 
are  not  chosen  with  the  aim  of  impressing  a  narrow  dogmatism  upon 
the  pupils  of  the  school,  but  to  meet  human  needs.  The  students 
coming  to  this  institution  have  exceptional  opportunity  of  influencing 
the  curriculum.  It  is  their  desire  to  find  fullness  of  life  through  the 
orderly  development  of  the  labor  movement  in  the  fields  of  coopera- 
tion, trade  unionism  and  politics  which  leads  them  to  study. 

The  Rand  School  was  established  in  1906  by  a  trust  fund  of  the 
late  Mrs.  Carrie  Rand,  and  a  contribution  from  her  daughter,  the 
late  Mrs.  Carrie  Rand  Herron.  The  greater  part  of  the  capital  since 
then  has  been  withdrawn  by  the  various  heirs  upon  coming  of  age 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  deed  of  trust,  and  the  income  has  thus 
been  diminished.  Tuition  funds  now  meet  from  40  to  50  per  cent  of 
the  Rand  School's  expense  of  maintenance.  Profits  from  the  Rand 
Book  Store  and  the  People's  House  Cafeteria  provide  for  another 
25  to  35  per  cent.  There  are  many  thousand  dollars  a  year  to  be 
raised  by  the  yearly  ball,  entertainments,  and  contributions.  The 
tuition  fee  is  $4  for  each  12-session  course  and  $7  for  each  course  of 
24  sessions. 

Arrangements  are  made  with  the  International  Ladies'  Garment 
Workers'  Union,  the  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  America,  the 
Workmen's  Circle,  United  Automobile  Workers,  Amalgamated  Metal 
Workers,  International  Jewelry  Workers,  and  various  branches  of  the 
Socialist  Party  for  courses  for  their  members. 

The  workers  of  the  clothing  industry  and  the  Rand  School  have 
always  been  in  close  contact.  The  educational  movement  of  these  ad- 
vanced workers  (with  their  large  Jewish  membership)  has  received 
considerable  impulse  and  furtherance  from  the  Rand  School.  The 
industrial  structure  of  the  clothing  industry,  the  high  intelligence  and 
character  of  its  membership,  the  absence  of  labor  political  graft  among 
its  officers — all  are  illustrative  of  both  the  causes  and  the  effects  of 
adult  education  on  the  workers-  But  no  swift  "morals"  and  "lessons" 
can  be  drawn  for  the  American  labor  movement  in  general.  The 
Jewish  mind,  which  dominates  the  clothing  industry,  is  alert,  eager  for 
instruction,  open  to  ideas.  Through  suffering,  the  Jewish  group  has 
learned  solidarity.  So  these  experiments  of  the  International  Ladies' 
Garment  Workers'  Union,  the  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of 


America,  the  United  Labor  Education  Committee,  and  the  Rand 
School  of  Social  Science,  must  be  considered  as  a  special  group  whose 
progress  in  labor  education  is  more  advanced  than  that  of  other 
groups  in  the  country. 

The  Rand  School  has  been  a  pioneer  in  workers'  education.  For 
all  who  believe  in  the  Rand  School  principles  of  constitutional  pro- 
cedure and  peaceful  solutions  of  vexed  questions  by  majority  con- 
sent it  becomes  a  matter  of  privilege  and  duty  to  champion  the  Rand 
School  as  occasion  arises.  It  is  not  the  Rand  School  that  is  being 
advocated.  It  is  workers'  education. 

Work  People's  College. 

The  Work  People's  College  is  a  resident  school  located  in  Duluth, 
Minnesota.  It  was  founded  by  the  Finnish  People's  Club.  The 
college  is  under  the  control  of  a  Board  of  Directors  elected  by  the 
stockholders,  many  of  whom  belong  to  Finnish  workers'  clubs.  The 
school  lays  emphasis  on  the  education  of  the  rank  and  file  along  the 
lines  of  industrial  unionism  and  has  been,  it  is  claimed,  a  great  in- 
fluence among  the  Finns.  The  school  owns  its  own  property  and 
buildings  and  is  valued  at  about  $40,000.  Most  of  the  students  re- 
side during  the  entire  time  of  the  school  season  in  the  college  dormi- 
tory. Each  student  pays  $46  a  month  which  is  apportioned  as  fol- 
lows :  $30  for  board,  $6  for  room  and  $10  for  tuition.  Student  fees 
make  up  about  80%  of  the  expenditures.  The  balance  of  the  funds 
is  secured  from  a  quarterly  publication  and  from  donations  in  about 
equal  proportions. 

The  subjects  taught  in  this  school  include:  English,  Arithmetic, 
Bookkeeping,  Finnish,  Economics,  Sociology,  History  of  the  Ameri- 
can Labor  Movement  and  Public  Speaking.  The  student  body  is 
made  up  entirely  of  unskilled  Finnish  workers.  About  95%  of  these 
have  had  a  common  school  education  in  their  native  country.  Every 
one  of  the  students  is  working  either  in  the  lumber  industry  or  in 
the  mining  industry.  Very  few  of  them  have  a  trade.  The  majority 
of  the  students,  it  is  reported,  come  to  the  school  for  practical  courses, 
such  as  English,  Mathematics  and  the  Commercial  Subjects.  The  rule 
of  the  college,  however,  is  that  every  student  must  attend  at  least  one 
class  in  either  Economics,  Sociology  or  History  of  the  American 
Labor  Movement. 

[53] 


The  school  attempted  to  run  courses  for  eight  months  in  the  year. 
It  was  found,  however,  that  students  could  not  be  kept  at  school  after 
the  middle  of  April  nor  could  students  commence  the  school  year 
until  late  in  the  fall.  Since  1914,  therefore,  the  school  year  lasts 
only  for  five  months,  beginning  in  November  and  extending  until 
April  15.  The  school  employs  four  full-time  teachers.  Ninety-five 
students  resided  at  the  school  during  the  past  year. 

Detroit  Workers'  Educational  Association. 

The  Detroit  Workers'  Educational  Association  is  an  organization 
made  up  of  groups  of  working  men  and  women  which  has  been 
conducting  lectures  and  classes  in  the  House  of  the  Masses  since  its 
inception  in  May,  1918.  The  subject-matter  studied  is  largely  that 
of  Marxian  Socialism.  A  total  of  forty  students  were  enrolled  in 
these  classes,  1920-21.  The  necessary  funds  are  raised  by  the  Work- 
ers' Educational  Association  of  Detroit. 

In  addition  to  the  above  organization,  two  other  educational  asso- 
ciations, the  Proletarian  Party  and  the  Detroit  Socialist  Education 
Society,  conduct  study  classes.  The  three  organizations,  it  is  claimed, 
conducted  about  fifteen  study  classes  besides  mass  meetings  every 
week. 

Workers'  Institute. 

The  Workers'  Institute  of  Chicago  was  originally  supported  by  the 
United  Hebrew  Trades,  the  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of 
America  and  by  many  of  the  radical  and  liberal  workers  in  Chicago. 
It  has  conducted  many  classes  and  arranged  series  of  lectures  by  men 
of  various  degrees  of  prominence.  Last  winter  it  arranged  a  series 
of  lectures  on  trade  union  problems  by  W.  Z.  Foster  as  well  as  a 
series  on  philosophy  and  economics  by  Carl  Hessler.  The  Workers' 
Institute  was  forced  to  dissolve  a  few  months  ago  for  a  number  of 
reasons.  Chief  among  these  were  the  raids  of  the  Department  of 
Justice  in  which  a  number  of  students  were  arrested  while  attending 
classes,  and  which  intimidated  many  from  attending  the  school,  and 
the  fact  that  most  of  the  organizations  who  previously  supported  the 
Institute  have  started  their  own  educational  work.  Many  of  the 
former  supporters  of  the  Institute  have  also  now  gone  in  with  the 
educational  work  of  the  Women's  Trade  Union  League. 

[54] 


Brookwood. 

Brookwood  is  a  resident  workers'  college  at  Katonah,  N.  Y., 
forty-one  miles  from  New  York  City  on  the  Harlem  Division  of  the 
New  York  Central  Railroad.  It  is  located  on  a  fifty-three  acre  tract 
of  wooded  land  among  the  hills  and  brooks  of  Westchester  County. 

Save  for  the  fact  that  it  stands  for  a  new  and  better  order,  moti- 
vated by  social  values  rather  than  pecuniary  ones,  Brookwood  is 
not  a  propagandist  institution.  It  aims  to  seek  the  truth,  free  from 
dogma  and  doctrinaire  teaching.  It  believes  that  "labor  and  farmer 
movements  constitute  the  most  concrete,  vital  forces  working  for 
human  freedom  and  that  by  exerting  a  wise  social  control  they  can 
bring  in  a  new  era  of  justice  and  human  brotherhood." 

Brookwood  seeks  to  provide  working  men  and  working  women 
with  an  education  which  best  fits  them  for  labor  service.  It  is  Brook- 
wood's  task  to  train  economists  and  statisticians;  journalists,  writers, 
and  teachers;  and  organizers,  workers,  and  speakers  for  the  labor 
and  farmer  movements  in  order  that  these  movements  may  have 
people  coming  from  their  own  ranks,  with  their  own  point  of  view, 
who  are  fully  capable,  by  training  and  knowledge,  of  exercising  a 
genuine  statesmanship.  Brookwood,  then,  is  virtually  a  professional 
school  to  educate  workers  to  work  in  the  workers'  movements.  It 
frankly  aims  NOT  to  educate  the  workers  out  of  their  class. 

The  length  of  the  full  course  is  two  years,  but  arrangements  have 
been  made  for  a  third  year  of  post-graduate  work  of  a  specialized 
character.  In  addition  to  this,  shorter  courses  are  offered  for  stu- 
dents who  cannot  attend  the  full  time.  A  correspondence  course 
will  also  be  given  for  trade  union  secretaries. 

The  curriculum  is  founded  mainly  upon  the  social  sciences  (econ- 
omics, sociology,  government,  history,  etc.)  but  also  includes  Eng- 
lish, literature,  and  a  course  made  up  of  a  series  of  short  courses  in 
the  other  sciences.  Special  lectures  are  given  in  journalism,  workers' 
education,  and  law  as  it  affects  the  workers. 

The  principal  course  is  one  in  social  problems  running  through  the 
entire  two  years  with  history  taught  as  ancillary  to  that  course.  By 
the  minute  consideration  of  definite,  concrete  problems  (such  as  un- 
employment, business  cycles,  the  individual  vs.  the  state,  etc.)  the 
student  acquires  knowledge  of  these  sciences.  Time  is  also  spent  in 

[55] 


the  statistical  laboratory  so  that  theories  can  be  tested  by  facts 
through  the  use  of  the  statistical  method.  In  this  way  mathematics 
are  studied  in  connection  with  the  more  gripping  actualities  of  the 
workers'  lives.  In  order,  too,  that  the  workers  may  analyze,  under- 
stand, and  criticize  financial  statements  as  well  as  to  enable  them  to 
appreciate  financial  problems,  accountancy  is  studied  in  the  same 
course.  Provision  is  made  for  original  research  by  individuals  and 
groups,  especially  in  the  line  of  field  work. 

In  the  history  courses  at  Brookwood,  consideration  is  given  to  the 
social  forces  at  work  through  the  masses  rather  than  to  the  political 
and  militaristic  activities  of  the  ruling  classes.  Partly  in  connection 
with  social  problems  and  partly  in  connection  with  history,  a  course 
in  labor  is  given  which  takes  up  not  only  the  history  of  labor  and 
labor  organizations,  but  the  problems  of  labor,  labor  tactics,  and  the 
future  of  labor. 

The  cultural  side  of  life,  however,  is  not  neglected.  Courses  in 
English  and  literature  provide  much  of  this  while  at  the  same  time 
students  are  learning  the  art  of  self-expression.  Extra-curriculum 
activities  are  also  organized  so  as  to  help  to  a  full  appreciation  of 
the  fine  things  in  music,  art,  and  letters,  especially  the  drama. 

One  of  the  significant  features  at  Brookwood,  is  the  community 
living  which  itself  presents  and  offers  opportunity  to  work  out  the 
problems  of  democracy  as  they  arise  from  day  to  day.  Nor  are  any 
persons  set  apart  as  exclusively  manual  workers.  All  participate  in 
the  daily  tasks.  Faculty  and  students  perform  the  jobs  that  call 
for  attention,  from  cooking  to  wood-cutting  and  from  farming  to 
dish-washing.  The  importance  and  dignity  of  hand  work  and  head 
work  are  both  fully  recognized.  The  supreme  power  of  the  college 
is  the  community  meeting  wherein  each  member  of  the  community 
has  one  vote,  faculty  and  students  alike,  but  as  the  faculty  defers  to 
student  opinion  in  matters  pertaining  to  them,  so  the  students  respect 
the  opinion  of  the  faculty  in  strictly  faculty  affairs. 

No  hard  and  fast  age  limits  have  been  set.  Brookwood  seeks  stu- 
dents who  are  old  enough  to  appreciate  their  responsibilities  to  their 
fellow  workers  and  yet  young  enough  so  that  their  training  will  count 
for  the  most  not  only  in  the  length  of  their  service  but  in  the  spirit  and 
ardor  which  they  put  into  that  service. 

[56] 


There  is  no  fixed  charge  for  tuition.  Students  are  expected  to 
pay  as  much  of  the  actual  cost  of  maintenance  as  possible  and  never 
less  than  $200.00,  which  represents  the  bare  cost  of  food.  Trade 
Unions  can  establish  Brookwood  scholarships  at  the  rate  of  $450.00 
per  person  per  annum,  for  which  sum  their  nominees  will  be  accepted 
at  Brookwood  without  a  further  obligation,  provided,  of  course,  that 
such  nominees  are  acceptable  to  the  community.  This  sum  represents 
the  bare  cost  of  food  and  maintenance. 

By  the  end  of  a  period  of  three  years,  it  is  hoped  to  reduce  the 
cost  per  student  by  increasing  the  number  of  students  to  a  point 
where  the  entire  cost  of  maintaining  Brookwood  can  be  met  through 
Trade  Union  scholarships.  In  the  meantime,  a  guarantee  fund  for 
the  construction  of  new  buildings  and  to  meet  any  possible  deficit  in 
Trade  Union  scholarships  is  to  be  raised  in  order  to  launch  the 
undertaking. 

A  labor  co-operating  committee,  consisting  of  John  Fitzpatrick, 
president  of  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor;  James  H.  Maurer,  presi- 
dent, Pennsylvania  Federation  of  Labor;  Rose  Schneiderman,  of  the 
New  York  Women's  Trade  Union  League;  John  Brophy,  president 
of  District  No.  2  U.  M.  W.  of  A.;  Charles  Kutz,  chairman  of  the 
International  Association  of  Machinists,  Pennsylvania  System;  and 
Abraham  Lefkowitz  of  the  Teachers'  Union  of  New  York  City,  will 
have  charge  of  laying  down  the  broad  policies  of  the  new  college  and 
will  also  have  supervision  of  the  personnel.  The  college  will  be  100 
per  cent  organized.  Every  person  connected  with  the  college  will 
be  a  card  man  in  the  organized  teachers'  union. 

No  examinations  are  required  for  entrance  to  Brookwood.  So 
long  as  vacancies  exist,  all  suitable  applicants  will  be  received  on  a 
probation  basis.  A  student  becomes  a  regular  member  of  the  com- 
munity as  soon  as  he  has  demonstrated  a  sufficient  ability  and  earnest- 
ness as  well  as  a  comprehension  of  what  it  means  to  be  a  Brookwood 
student. 

The  college  will  open  in  the  fall  of  1921,  the  school  year  being 
approximately  30  weeks. 

Bryn  Mawr  Summer  School  for  Women  Workers  in  Industry. 

As  this  pamphlet  goes  to  press,  an  interesting  and  significant  ex- 
periment in  workers'  education  is  being  inaugurated  at  Bryn  Mawr 

[571 


College,  Bryn  Mawr,  Pennsylvania.  A  summer  school  for  women 
workers  in  industry  to  continue  from  June  15th  to  August  10th  will 
be  held  in  this  girls'  college.  The  requirements  for  admission  in  this 
summer  school  are  only  ability  to  read  and  write  English,  and  a 
common  school  education  or  its  equivalent,  with  good  health  and  a 
sound  physical  condition.  No  one  under  eighteen  is  admitted,  and 
candidates  between  the  ages  of  20  and  35  are  given  preference. 

Only  women  workers  in  industry  are  admitted  as  students.  Women 
workers  are  defined  as  "women  who  are  working  with  the  tools  of 
their  trade,  and  not  in  a  supervisory  capacity."  For  the  first  summer, 
students  will  not  be  admitted  who  are  engaged  as  teachers,  office 
workers,  saleswomen  in  stores  and  shops,  workers  in  the  household, 
and  waitresses.  The  seventy  young  industrial  women  who  will  re- 
ceive scholarships  of  $200  each,  which  pays  the  entire  expenses  of 
the  term,  will  he  recruited  from  the  trade  unions,  the  industrial 
clubs  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  and  the  National 
Federation  of  Girls'  Clubs.  For  the  purpose  of  the  scholarships,  the 
country  is  divided  into  seven  regional  districts,  each  of  which  is 
awarded  five  scholarships.  Large  industrial  centers  such  as  New 
York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia  and  Boston,  will  receive  five  additional 
scholarships,  and  15  remaining  scholarships  will  be  distributed  at 
large.  Besides  these,  there  are  also  11  scholarships  for  a  "Leaders' 
Group,"  distributed  throughout  the  country.  The  funds  for  the 
scholarships  are  being  raised  by  the  alumnae  of  the  college  and  from 
contributions  of  public-spirited  men  and  women. 

A  joint  administrative  committee  made  up  of  representatives  of 
women  workers  in  industry,  of  representatives  of  the  college  and  of 
the  Bryn  Mawr  Alumnae  Association,  states  that  the  object  of  the 
school  is: 

.  .  .  to  offer  young  women  of  character  and  ability  a  fuller  special 
education  and  an  opportunity  to  study  liberal  subjects,  in  order  that  they 
may  widen  their  influence  in  the  industrial  world,  help  in  the  coming 
social  reconstruction,  and  increase  the  happiness  and  usefulness  of  their 
own  lives. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  Summer  School  for  Women  Workers  in  Industry 
will  demonstrate  in  a  concrete  way  that  workers'  educational  movements 
in  this  country  and  abroad  may  be  carried  still  further  and  may  be 
developed  into  systematic  intellectual  work  through  courses  of  study 

[58] 


pursued  for  a  number  of  consecutive  weeks  in  academic  surroundings 
of  beauty,  under  the  same  favorable  conditions  of  complete  freedom 
from  economic  anxiety  and  domestic  care  which  college  students  enjoy. 

The  courses  of  instruction  laid  out  for  the  first  summer  are  divided 
into  the  following  groups: — (1)  Industrial  Group,  including  econo- 
mics, labor,  and  subjects  of  special  interest  to  industrial  workers; 
(2)  the  Social  Group,  including  literature,  history,  government,  law 
and  psychology;  (3)  the  Culture  Group,  including  a  course  in  art,  and 
the  study  of  pictures  and  architecture.  Physical  hygiene,  recreation, 
swimming,  dancing  and  walking  are  also  provided  in  the  program 
for  the  summer's  work.  The  residence  halls  and  the  entire  college 
equipment  have  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  working  girl 
students  during  the  summer. 

Miss  Mary  Anderson,  director  of  the  Women's  Bureau  of  the  U.  S. 
Department  of  Labor,  and  a  member  of  the  Joint  Administrative 
Committee,  in  speaking  in  regard  to  the  college,  declared : 

From  the  students  in  the  Bryn  Mawr  School  we  hope  to  develop  leaders 
among  the  women  workers  who  will  be  a  vital  factor  in  broadening  the 
life  and  environment  as  well  as  bettering  the  working  conditions  of  their 
sisters.  On  the  other  hand,  the  women  workers  will  make  a  definite 
contribution  to  the  educational  standard  of  the  colleges.  They  are  the 
exponents,  the  concrete  embodiment  of  the  result  of  existing  economic 
conditions.  The  different  quality  of  this  knowledge,  and  the  utilization 
of  it  in  our  educational  systems,  is  full  of  possibilities.  Bryn  Mawr  Col- 
lege has  perceived  this.  Her  leadership  in  the  establishment  of  this 
school  is  full  of  significance  and  hope  for  broader  future  basis  in  public 
education. 

Porto  Rico. 

Rafael  Alonso,  general  secretary  of  the  Free  Federation  of  the 
Workingmen  of  Porto  Rico  (affiliated  to  the  A.  F.  of  L.),  has  re- 
ported to  vis,  as  follows : — 

"We  have  no  labor  college.  Union  halls  are  used  as  conference  and 
educational  places.  Matters  relative  to  the  history  of  the  world  labor 
movement ;  efficiency  in  trade  unions  and  among  the  workers,  individually ; 
English  and  Spanish  classes,  are  the  subjects  dealt  with." 

The  address  of  Rafael  Alonso  is  in  care  of  the  Free  Federation 
of  the  Workingmen  of  Porto  Rico,  Box  270,  San  Juan,  Porto  Rico. 

[59] 


Summary 

Such  are  some  of  the  experiments  in  workers'  education.  No 
facile  generalizations  can  be  made :  the  facts  are  too  few,  the  history 
is  too  recent.  All  that  can  be  said  is  that  approximately  10,000 
workers  are  studying  with  some  regularity  in  classes.  These  classes 
are  an  attempt  to  carry  on  quiet  intensive  group  work.  They  find 
their  strength  in  being  local,  regional.  They  do  not  attempt  to  organ- 
ize a  "national  movement"  or  "drive."  As  they  slowly  grow,  they 
will  create  a  new  trade  union  leadership,  and  will  transform  the 
thinking  of  the  rank  and  file. 


[60] 


WORKERS'   EDUCATION  BUREAU  OF  AMERICA 

Ever  since  labor  education  began  to  be  promoted  in  more  than  one 
locality  in  the  United  States,  the  persons  active  in  this  movement 
keenly  felt  the  need  for  the  establishment  of  some  central  agency 
which  would  coordinate  the  various  attempts,  define  the  aims  and  ob- 
jects, stimulate  the  undertakings  and  in  general  guide  them  in  their 
work  by  pooling  their  combined  experiences.  The  road  was  slow 
and  uncertain,  and  the  wisdom  and  cooperation  of  all  the  pioneers, 
each  of  whom  was  groping,  were  urgently  needed.  There  were  a 
desire  and  a  necessity  for  consultation  and  for  exchanges  of  ideas  and 
experiences.  The  delegations  of  the  International  Ladies'  Garment 
Workers'  Union  have  at  several  recent  A.  F.  of  L.  conventions 
brought  up  the  issue  of  workers'  education  nationally. 

The  first  attempt  at  such  coordination  and  the  establishment  of  a 
National  Information  Bureau  was  made  at  an  informal  conference  in 
Chicago  on  July  6,  1920,  during  the  Convention  of  the  Farmer-Labor 
Party,  by  a  group  of  persons  interested  in  labor  education.  J.  M. 
Budish,  Chairman  of  the  United  Labor  Education  Committee,  was 
elected  secretary  at  that  time.  , 

On  New  Year's  eve,  1921,  another  group  of  persons  actively  en- 
gaged in  labor  education,  representing  about  a  dozen  enterprises, 
gathered  at  the  Civic  Club  in  New  York  City  and  organized  the  Tem- 
porary National  Workers'  Education  Bureau  of  America.  Abraham 
Epstein,  General  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Education  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Federation  of  Labor,  was  elected  secretary-treasurer. 
It  was  then  decided  to  issue  a  call  for  a  conference  on  labor  educa- 
tion, on  April  2nd  and  3rd.  It  was  also  decided  to  send  out  a  ques- 
tionnaire to  all  the  educational  enterprises  dealing  with  such  impor- 
tant questions  as  the  problem  of  control  of  labor  colleges,  aims  and 
objects,  teachers,  students'  registration,  attendance,  text  books  used, 
etc. 

The  conference  which  was  held  in  the  auditorium  of  the  New 
School  for  Social  Research,  New  York  City,  was  a  significant  and 
promising  gathering.  Trade  unionists,  teachers  arid  students  met 
there  and  founded  the  Workers'  Education  Bureau  of  America,  a 

[61] 


W.  E.  B.,  as  Britain  has  a  W.  E.  A.  (Workers'  Educational  Associa- 
tion). Twelve  labor  officials,  34  trade  unionists,  and  other  workers, 
20  students,  52  teachers,  and  many  other  persons  interested  in  work- 
ers' education  attended,  making  a  group  of  over  two  hundred.  This 
first  gathering  brought  together  135  from  New  York,  30  from 
Pennsylvania,  15  from  Massachusetts,  and  6  scattered.  Thus  the 
organization  of  the  group  into  an  educational  bureau,  although  at  first 
regional,  will,  it  is  hoped,  grow  into  a  nationally  representative  move- 
ment. 

The  object  of  the  Bureau  is  to  act  as  a  clearing  house  of  informa- 
tion ;  an  organization  for  publicity ;  a  register  of  teachers ;  a  laboratory 
on  text  books  and  other  classroom  materials,  on  syllabi  of  courses  and 
on  methods  of  pedagogy;  an  agency  for  the  collection  and  coordina- 
tion of  statistics. 

The  Constitution  of  the  W.  E.  B.  adopted  at  the  recent  confer- 
ence gives  the  purpose  of  the  Bureau  as  follows : 

To  collect  and  to  disseminate  information  relative  to  efforts  at  educa- 
tion conducted  by  any  part  of  organized  labor;  to  co-ordinate  and  assist 
in  every  possible  manner  the  educational  work  now  carried  on  by  the 
organized  workers,  and  to  stimulate  the  creation  of  additional  enterprises 
in  labor  education  throughout  the  United  States. 

What  was  accomplished  by  the  conference  was  a  closer  affiliation  of 
workers'  education  with  the  American  labor  movement.  The  gar- 
ment industry  has  conducted  successful  experiments  for  years.  But 
this  conference  was  unusual  in  the  presence  also  of  machinists,  brick- 
layers, teamsters,  street  railwaymen,  miners.  This  achievement  was 
due  to  the  interest  of  such  men  as  James  H.  Maurer,  John  Brophy 
and  William  F.  Kehoe.  The  focusing  of  this  interest  into  a  policy- 
making  conference,  with  an  effective  program,  is  the  persistent  work 
of  Fannia  M.  Cohn,  and  of  Abraham  Epstein. 

What  was  revealed  by  the  conference  was  an  uninformed  but  eager 
group,  ready  for  the  next  step.  The  need  is  for  information  on  how 
to  form  groups,  what  to  teach,  how  to  teach,  presentation  of  material, 
and  for  ideas  on  what  workers'  education  is,  its  object,  its  method. 
Most  of  the  fundamental  questions  went  unanswered.  There  is  no 
outstanding  figure  in  the  labor  or  educational  group  devoting  his  life 
to  making  this  one  thing  prevail.  Instead  we  have  tired,  busy  people, 
serving  on  many  committees,  active  in  a  dozen  causes.  As  a  teacher 

[62] 


in  Pennsylvania  labor  work  states :  "The  greatest  need  of  the  move- 
ment is  for  devoted  and  enthusiastic  propagandists  of  the  idea  of 
workers'  education." 

The  success  of  the  tentative  bureau  rests  with  the  executive  com- 
mittee. James  H.  Maurer,  president  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Fed- 
eration of  Labor,  is  chairman,  and  Spencer  Miller,  Jr.,  secretary,  465 
West  23rd  Street,  New  York  City.  The  other  members  of  the  com- 
mittee are  John  Brophy,  President  of  District  2  of  the  United  Mine 
Workers  of  America;  Harry  Dana,  of  the  Trade  Union  College  of 
Boston;  Fannia  M.  Cohn,  of  the  International  Ladies'  Garment 
Workers'  Union;  William  F.  Kehoe,  secretary  of  the  Central  Trades 
and  Labor  Council  of  Greater  New  York  and  Vicinity;  Harry  Rus- 
sell of  the  Metal  Trades  Council  of  Springfield,  Mass. ;  Frieda  Miller 
of  the  Trade  Union  College  of  Philadelphia,  and  J.  B.  Salutsky, 
educational  director  of  the  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  Amer- 
ica. 

The  following  organizations  and  individuals  are  eligible  for  mem- 
bership : 

1.  International    and    national    labor    unions;    State    Federations    of 
Labor  and  other  State  Labor  organizations;  City  Central  Labor  Unions 
and  District  organizations  or  Councils ;  local  labor  unions,  and  bona-fide 
cooperative  associations. 

2.  Labor  educational  enterprises. 

3.  Members    of    local    unions,    teachers,    organizers,    educators,    and 
other  interested  persons  may  join  the   Bureau  as   Associate   Members. 
They  shall  receive  all  bulletins  and  such  information  as  the  Bureau  may 
issue. 

The  annual  membership  dues  are  as  follows : 

$25  for  international  and  national  unions;  $20  for  State  Federations 
of  Labor  and  other  State  labor  organizations;  $15  for  city  central  unions, 
district  councils  and  labor  educational  enterprises ;  $5  for  local  unions ; 
$2  for  associate  members. 

The  proceedings  of  the  first  conference  will  soon  be  published  in 
a  pamphlet,  obtainable  from  the  secretary  of  the  W.  E.  B. 


[63] 


SUGGESTIONS  ON  STARTING  CLASSES  AND 
INTERESTING  STUDENTS 

Prepared  by  ABRAHAM  EPSTEIN,  who  organized  workers'  classes  in 
Pennsylvania  industrial  communities. 

How  can  an  interest  in  workers'  education  be  awakened  ?  What  is 
the  best  way  of  starting  a  class?  How  is  a  class  taught?  What 
methods  hold  interest? 

There  is  no  cut  and  dried  method  that  could  be  laid  down  in 
answer  to  these  questions.  The  problem  is  one  dealing  with  human 
beings.  Even  if  there  were  definite  methods  it  would  be  presumptuous 
on  our  part  to  suggest  them  as  the  best  possible.  Up  to  the  present 
writing  there  has  been  little  information  gathered  and  the  experiences 
have  been  based  upon  a  short  period  of  time.  It  may  not  be  amiss, 
however,  to  present  some  of  the  processes  and  plans  that  have  been 
used  successfully  in  organizing  workers'  classes  in  typical  industrial 
centers  in  this  country.  The  suggestions  are  made  without  any 
sense  of  finality. 

Approach. 

Perhaps  the  first  step  of  importance  in  organizing  workers'  edu- 
cational classes  is  the  problem  of  how  and  whom  to  approach  in  order 
to  present  the  idea  of  workers'  education.  From  what  little  experi- 
ence can  be  gathered,  it  appears  that  the  best  means  of  approach  in  a 
typical  industrial  center  is  the  City  Central  Labor  Body.  The  Central 
Labor  Union  is  best  because  it  is  usually  made  up  of  the  most  active 
members  of  the  individual  locals  who  can  be  counted  upon  to  report 
back  to  their  own  organizations.  The  C.  L.  U.  also  generally  has  a 
great  influence  in  the  labor  movement  of  a  particular  locality  and 
anything  endorsed  by  it  has  weight  among  the  locals.  An  effort 
should  be  made  to  interest  a  few  of  the  delegates  to  the  Central  Labor 
Union  in  workers'  education  before  the  meeting. 

Appeal. 

The  fundamental  requirements  in  an  appeal  in  behalf  of  workers' 
education  are  the  faith  and  enthusiasm  of  a  few  men  or  women. 
The  fact  that  only  a  few  are  conscious  of  the  significance  of  this 
movement  should  not  deter  those  active  few  from  presenting  their 
ideas.  Some  of  the  most  successful  experiments  were  sponsored  by 
only  a  few  men  who  had  sufficient  enthusiasm  and  devotion.  A  few 

[64] 


suggestions  as  to  the  appeal  made  by  James  H.  Maurer  and  the 
writer  in  organizing  the  Pennsylvania  educational  work  are  here- 
with presented.  In  appearing  before  a  labor  union  in  behalf  of  work- 
ers' education  they  pointed  out : 

1.  The  benefits  derived  from  such  work  by  the  British  labor  move- 
ment and  a  comparison  of  the  effectiveness  of  that  movement  with  our 
own. 

2.  Education,  at  the  present  time,  is  only  one-sided,  and  is  controlled 
by  one  class.     The  schools  and  colleges  of  today  present  definitions  of 
such  words  as  "justice,"  "truth,"  "loyalty,"  "duty,"  "patriotism,"  etc.,  in 
a  way  that  suits  the  employers  of  labor,  and  not  the  organized  workers. 
All  forms  of  education  in  existence  today — schools,  press,  churches,  the 
movies,  etc. — are  presenting  this  one  kind  of  education.     Instances  are 
cited  of  teachers  of  long  experience  dismissed  as  soon  as  they  identify 
themselves  with  organized  labor.     The  experiences  of  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement  are  recalled  when  it  attempted  to  present  the  truth  in 
favor  of  labor  in  the  steel  mills. 

3.  The  emphasis  of  today  is  laid  upon  money  values  rather  than  hu- 
man values;  the  well-known  men  in  America  are  men  of  money  and 
power  and  not  the  men  of  science,  art,  or  social  vision. 

4.  Many  of  the  employers  have  had  the  benefit  of  a  college  education, 
and  always  hire  the  best  brains  of  the  country  to  help  them,  but  most 
wage-earners  were  not  privileged  to  secure  even  an  elementary  school 
education.     Benefits  have  been  derived  by   organized  labor   from  con- 
nections with  such  men  as  Glenn  Plumb,  Jett  Lauck,  etc. 

5.  Although  the  employers  have  had  the  benefit  of  education,  they 
still  feel  the  necessity  of  keeping  in  touch  with  new  events  by  bringing 
men  of  prominence  to  their  clubs  and  luncheons  and  having  talks  on 
important  subjects.     Thus,  the  employers  realize  the  necessity  for  fur- 
ther study  while  labor  has  had  neither  fundamental  education  nor  dis- 
cussions on  present-day  problems. 

6.  Just  as  one  can  be  a  good  American  only  after  he  knows  some- 
thing of  the  ideals  and  history  of  America,  so  one  cannot  be  a  good 
trade  union  man  without  knowing  something  of  the  history,  struggles, 
and  ideals  of  the  labor  movement. 

7.  Labor   education   is   especially  necessary  at  this   time,   when  the 
struggle  between  capital  and  labor  is  becoming  sharper;  when  an  attempt 
is  made  to  crush  unionism  altogether.    Organized  labor  is  spreading  out 
into   the   fields   of  cooperation;   into  banking,   into   controlling  its  own 
press,  etc.     These  constructive  ventures  demand  a  trained  and  self-dis- 
ciplined rank  and  file. 

An  organization  committee  of  three  or  five  active  persons  should 
then  be  appointed.  No  person  should  be  appointed  on  such  a  com- 
mittee who  cannot  devote  at  least  one  or  two  evenings  a  week  to  this 

[65J 


work.  The  committee  should  secure  a  list  of  the  meeting  places  of  the 
local  unions  and  apportion  the  work  so  that  each  member  of  the  com- 
mittee can  visit  those  locals  which  meet  nearest  his  place  of  residence 
and  on  such  evenings  as  suit  him  best.  Union  organizers  who  are 
really  devoted  to  education  can  do  effective  work  in  stimulating 
interest. 

Funds. 

There  are  many  methods  of  financing  labor  education.  There  is  no 
difficulty  in  raising  the  money,  once  an  interest  has  been  aroused  in 
the  significance  of  the  work.  When  local  instructors  can  be  secured, 
student  fees  may  at  times  cover  most  of  the  expenses.  When  local 
teachers  are  lacking  or  student  fees  are  insufficient,  local  unions  should 
be  visited  and  appealed  to.  From  what  experience  we  have  had,  it 
was  found  that  but  few  locals  refuse  a  contribution  to  workers'  edu- 
cation when  the  appeal  is  presented  to  them.  Some  labor  schools 
have  had  a  specified  affiliation  fee  of  about  ten  dollars  which  was 
charged  each  local  union.  In  the  smaller  cities,  however,  it  was 
found  that  it  was  best  to  have  no  specified  amount.  Unions  have  usu- 
ally been  found  to  become  generous  contributors  as  soon  as  the  work 
is  appreciated.  An  assessment  of  one  cent  per  month  a  member  is 
also  suggested  by  some  local  unions  as  a  measure  of  the  amount  of 
their  contribution  and  as  a  means  of  securing  funds.  A  plan  of  as- 
sessing a  certain  sum  by  the  central  labor  union  to  each  affiliated 
local  for  education  is  also  going  to  be  experimented  with,  soon.  Part 
of  the  funds,  it  has  also  been  found,  can  be  raised  through  entertain- 
ments, such  as  dances,  lectures,  raffles,  etc.  This,  however,  should  be 
used  only  as  a  last  means.  In  our  experience  a  trade  union  college, 
financed  on  money  from  local  unions,  is  preferable  to  one  financed 
on  money  from  international  unions  or  even  central  labor  bodies.  The 
workers  take  a  much  keener  interest  if  the  work  is  financed  by  their 
own  local  money.  In  short,  the  best  way  seems  to  be  that  the  central 
labor  body  should  take  the  initiative  in  voting  sympathy  with  workers' 
education,  and  in  bearing  the  expense  of  promotion,  but  that  the 
classes  should  be  supported  mainly  by  the  local  unions. 

A  circuit  rider,  an  itinerant  preacher,  who  will  push  the  idea  in 
industrial  communities  may  be  used.  He  will  form  a  local  committee 
and  sow  pamphlets.  Later,  he  will  swing  round  in  his  circuit  and 

[66] 


revisit  these  experiments.  An  enthusiastic  local  educational  director 
elected  by  the  class  can  be  counted  upon  to  carry  on  meetings  in  the 
absence  of  the  travelling  teacher. 

If  a  group  is  not  ready  for  regular  class-room  work,  it  may  often 
be  drawn  into  current  events  discussions.  Their  interest  in  "live 
topics"  may  lead  them  into  study. 

Classes  held  before  business  meetings  sometimes  get  attendance 
which  would  not  be  called  out  to  an  educational  meeting  alone. 

Earnestness,  drive  and  imagination  cannot  fail  to  create  classes. 

How  to  Maintain  the  Interest  of  the  Students. 

It  is -obvious  that  the  holding  of  a  class  together  will  depend  largely 
upon  the  teacher's  personality  and  methods  of  instruction  as  well  as 
the  subject  matter.  In  the  class  room  he  must  provide  the 
students  an  opportunity  to  express  themselves.  Putting  up  ques- 
tions to  the  students,  and  asking  them  to  make  reports  on  certain 
books  or  articles  have  helped  to  hold  students.  The  teacher  should 
endeavor  as  much  as  possible  to  become  familiar  with  the  students, 
learn  something  of  their  individual  traits,  and  take  an  interest  in  their 
particular  trade  and  labor  problems.  He  should  make  use,  as  much 
as  possible,  of  charts,  pictures,  and  other  illustrations,  which  visualize 
the  subject  he  tries  to  cover.  Pamphlets,  outlines  of  study,  and 
mimeographed  reading  lists  should  be  freely  used.  Time  in  class  is 
precious.  Preparation  for  the  hour  or  two  of  meeting  cannot  be  too 
thorough.  Material  upon  which  aroused  interest  can  feed  should  be 
given  to  the  students. 

In  assigning  readings  to  students,  the  teacher  should  make  every 
effort  to  bring  the  books  with  him  and  give  them  out  to  the  students 
in  the  class.  Students  in  workers'  schools  are  often  unfamiliar  and 
very  timid  in  the  ways  of  getting  books  from  the  public  libraries.  The 
reading  habit  can  be  stimuMfed  by  having  boxes  of  books  available 
at  local  meetings  and  even  at  the  office  where  each  union  member 
pays  his  dues.  Frequent  conferences  between  the  students  of  different 
classes  help  greatly  to  instill  enthusiasm  in  the  class.  If  possible,  de- 
bates or  "get-togethers"  should  be  arranged.  Such  social  functions 
may  also  help  to  maintain  the  interest  of  the  group.  Another  sug- 
gestion is  to  have  the  students  report  back  to  their  local  unions  the 
subject  discussed  in  the  class.  This  would  stimulate  the  attention  of 
the  students  and  would  spread  the  idea  continuously. 

[67] 


Chapter  III 

A  FEW  FOREIGN  EXPERIMENTS 

Workers'  Education  in  Britain. 

The  spirit  of  adult  education  has  been  stated  by  Philip  Snowden: 
"I  would  rather  have  better  education  given  to  the  masses  of  the 
working  classes  than  the  best  for  a  few.  'O  God,  make  no  more 
giants ;  elevate  the  race.' ' 

Adult  education  is  one  expression  of  social  ferment  and  the  de- 
sire for  a  better  social  order.  Its  purpose  is  to  lift  the  rank  and  file 
and  to  train  leaders.  It  is  emphatically  not  the  purpose  to  lift  the 
workers  into  the  middle  class. 

The  Need. 

Professor  Henry  Clay  writes  us  out  of  long  experience  in  British 
workers'  classes : — 

"I  do  not  think  adult  education  is  a  substitute  for  secondary  edu- 
cation missed  in  adolescence:  it  is  a  different  thing.  Therefore  I 
should  say  that  the  University  Tutorial  Classes  have  revealed  a  need, 
and  indicated  a  way  of  satisfying  it,  for  which  no  systematic  pro- 
vision has  been  made  in  the  past.  Yet  it  is  a  need  as  normal  as  the 
need  of  elementary  education  in  childhood  and  secondary  education 
in  adolescence:  the  need  of  adults  for  opportunities  of  systematic 
study  of  adult  problems" 

Rules. 

The  British  experience  has  revealed  certain  principles  in  policy 
and  rules  in  strategy. 

The  desire  for  adult  education  must  come  from  the  workers.  This 
desire  can  be  stimulated  by  appeals  and  by  successful  examples. 

Controversial  subjects  (in  economics,  history  and  literature)  must 
be  included  in  the  curriculum.  "No  class  can  afford  to  disregard 
either  Marshall  or  Marx,"  says  Albert  Mansbridge. 

Classes,  not  lectures,  are  the  method  of  instruction.  The  second 
half  of  the  period  is  devoted  to  rapid-fire  questions  by  the  students. 
Each  student  is  a  teacher,  each  teacher  is  a  student. 

[68] 


The  classes  are  run  by  the  students,  who  "approve"  of  the  tutor, 
select  subjects,  and  help  to  formulate  the  syllabus.  There  is  equality 
between  teachers  and  taught,  with  no  touch  of  upper-class  philan- 
thropy. 

At  all  points,  the  workers  must  share  the  control  and  management 
of  adult  education. 

The  courses  favor  "a  liberal  as  against  a  merely  bread-and-butter 
education."  The  courses  are  non-vocational.  The  subjects  selected 
by  the  students  are  economics,  history,  literature,  natural  science, 
modern  languages,  music,  drama  and  art. 

WORKERS'    EDUCATIONAL    ASSOCIATION 

(Known  as  the  W.  E.  A.) 

The  W.  E.  A.  was  the  resultant  of  many  movements.  These  were 
Mechanics  Institutes,  University  Extension,  evening  schools,  adult 
schools,  the  People's  College,  the  Cooperatives,  Christian  Socialists, 
the  settlements.  It  was  an  attempt  to  bring  together  scholarship  and 
labor.  It  was  founded  in  1903  by  a  group  of  trade  unionists,  coopera- 
tors  and  university  men.  The  membership  of  the  W.  E.  A.  in  1920 
was  277  branches,  2,760  affiliated  bodies  (trade  unions,  coops,  uni- 
versities), and  20,703  individual  members.  The  individual  subscrip- 
tion is  usually  one  shilling  a  year  to  a  branch,  and  to  a  district  usually 
half  a  crown. 

Tutorial  Classes. 

The  chief  expression  of  the  W.  E.  A.  has  been  tutorial  classes. 
These  are  organized  by  the  W.  E.  A.  and  self -administered  under 
university  Joint  Committees,  consisting  of  an  equal  number  of  uni- 
versity and  working  class  representatives.  The  Joint  Committee, 
aided  by  grants  from  the  state,  is  the  controlling  authority  of  the 
tutorial  class.  The  classes  are  financed  partly  by  the  universities, 
party  by  grants  from  the  Board  of  Education  and  local  education  au- 
thorities. These  sources  have  been  supplemented  by  the  Gilchrist 
Trustees  and  the  W.  E.  A. 

The  class  chooses  the  subject  of  study  and  approves  the  tutor  sent 
by  the  Joint  Committee.  The  student  pledges  himself  to  attend  for 
two  hours  a  week — one  hour  for  the  lecture,  one  hour  for  discussion — 

[69] 


during  twenty-four  weeks  a  year  for  three  years,  and  to  write  each 
fortnight  an  essay.  The  tutorial  classes  were  started  in  1907.  In 
eleven  years,  8,000  students  had  entered  the  classes.  In  1919-20  there 
were  229  classes,  with  5,320  students. 

Cost. 

The  Board  of  Education  gives  £45  a  class  for  each  of  three  years. 
The  Oxford  Committee  held  that  a  tutor  could  undertake  five  classes, 
and  pays  £80-£100  a  class,  or  £400-£500  a  year  for  full  work.  Cam- 
bridge pays  £72  a  class.  London  pays  £80.  There  are  twenty-three 
universities  and  colleges  interested.  The  fee  paid  by  a  member  of  a 
tutorial  class  averages  2  shillings  6  pence  for  twenty-four  meetings. 
The  universities  were  to  be  responsible  for  one  half  the  tutor's  sal- 
aries and  travelling  expenses.  Oxford  has  met  this.  Elsewhere  less 
than  one  half.  The  universities  are  putting  up  £5,000  a  year.  Local 
authorities  give  £2,000  a  year. 

Of  303  students  in  the  Oxford  classes  in  1917-18  fifty-three  were 
trade  union  officials,  twenty-five  "coop"  officers,  eleven  on  local  gov- 
ernment boards.  A  class  must  not  contain  under  Board  of  Education 
regulations  more  than  thirty  students  and  usually  has  less. 

An  analysis  of  contribution  to  tutorial  classes  for  1908-13  shows: 

From  universities   £17,440 

Board  of  Education £12,000 

Local  education  authorities £  6,100 

Other  sources  (Gilchrist  Trustees,  Cooperative 

unions,  Trades  Union  Congress,  W.  E.  A.) .  .£  2,000 


£37,540 
(at  $4.80  to  £,  this  is  $180,192) 

The  contribution  from  the  Board  of  Education  is  now  based  on 
a  block  grant  of  £45  a  class.  This  means  nearly  £7,000  a  year. 

Books. 

So  far  as  their  means  will  allow  the  students  purchase  their  own 
books.  "Generally  it  is  found  possible  to  arrange  that  one  text- 
book of  moderate  price  should  be  possessed  by  every  student;  for 
instance,  in  many  classes  all  the  students  had  Townsend  Warner's 


'Industrial  History  of  England.'  In  every  class  copies  of  the  prin- 
cipal books  necessary  are  provided.  It  is  usual  for  the  university  to 
which  the  course  is  attached  to  send  to  the  centre  a  box  of  books.  In 
addition  to  this  there  are  available  at  some  centres  those  books  which 
are  in  the  public  library.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  free  libraries 
do  not  seem,  at  any  rate  in  many  cases,  adequately  to  meet  the  de- 
mand." 

The  W.  E.  A.  has  a  central  library  of  fair  size,  equipped  to  supply 
some  of  the  books  required  and  there  is  a  Central  Library  for  students 
under  independent  trustees  which  is  prepared  to  supply  any  book 
needed  by  a  worker  student. 

Attendance. 

The  proportion  of  attendances  made  to  attendances  possible  is 
usually  75%  or  over.  The  average  composition  of  a  class  is  twenty- 
five.  Of  5,320  in  attendance,  about  3,600  are  men  and  1,700  women, 
There  is  no  certificate,  no  examination  (except  the  fortnightly  essay), 
no  formality.  Freedom  of  discussion  is  fundamental. 

Effect  on  Teachers  and  Students. 

How  adult  workers  can  benefit  a  teacher  and  his  teaching  is  re- 
vealed in  R.  H.  Tawney's  "Agrarian  Problem  of  the  Sixteenth  Cen- 
tury," and  Henry  Clay's  "Economics" — "both  of  them  based  on  lec- 
tures given  in  tutorial  classes." 

After  an  investigation,  A.  L.  Smith,  now  Master  of  Balliol  College, 
wrote : 

"Twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  essays  examined  by  him  after  second 
year's  work  in  two  classes,  and  first  year's  work  in  six  classes,  were  equal 
to  the  work  done  by  students  who  gained  first  classes  in  the  Final  Schools 
of  Modern  History.  He  was  astonished,  not  so  much  at  the  quality  as  at 
the  quantity  of  the  quality  of  the  work  done." 

The  group  of  persons  around  Arnold  Freemen,  who  made  a 
Study  of  Sheffield,  state : 

"The  W.  E.  A.  reaches  out  directly  to  no  workers  except  those  who 
belong  to  the  well-equipped  class,  and  only  to  the  best  of  these." 

One  of  the  founders  of  the  W.  E.  A.  (Mansbridge)  says: 

"Such  efforts  are  not  worth  undertaking  unless  they  can  be  main- 
tained for  the  first  year  on  a  pound  or  two.  All  movements  ought  to 
be  small  and  poor  at  the  commencement." 

[70 


He  adds  that  large  and  successful  meetings  at  the  beginning  are 
bad.  A  small,  keen,  critical  group  is  best  in  organizing  the  work. 

One  of  the  useful  results  of  the  W.  E.  A.  has  been  in  developing 
the  social  consciousness  of  Oxford,  Cambridge,  and  the  modern 
universities.  As  the  result,  there  is  less  bitterness  in  the  feeling  of 
the  workers  towards  the  universities,  and  less  arrogance  in  the  mind 
of  scholars  towards  the  labor  movement. 

Also,  by  1913,  it  could  be  said,  "In  the  coming  discussion  in  the 
country  on  the  future  of  national  education,  over  5,000  well  trained 
working  men  and  women  will  take  their  part." 

The  tutorial  classes  of  the  W.  E.  A.  were  the  first  whole-hearted 
recognition  of  Adult  Education. 

A  Class. 

In  the  famous  pamphlet  "Education  and  the  Working  Class"  it  is 
recalled  that  Erasmus  came  to  England  to  meet  his  fellow-scholars. 
He  visited  the  two  great  universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  If 
he  came  again  today,  he  would  go  to  the  Potteries,  to  the  heart  of 
the  industrial  district,  and  to  the  working  class. 

"In  one  of  the  Five  Towns  there  is  a 'block  of  school  buildings  occupy- 
ing a  vacant  plot  by  the  side  of  a  factory.  Four  great  ovens,  like  giant 
champagne  bottles,  overlook  the  premises,  and  seem  to  leer  wickedly 
into  the  playground.  When  Erasmus  visits  it  at  night,  one  of  the  rooms 
is  still  lighted.  Some  twenty-five  men  and  women  are  gathered  there, 
of  various  ages  and  trades,  but  predominantly  of  the  working  class. 
They  have  come  together,  he  is  told,  for  a  university  tutorial  class  in 
philosophy,  which  meets  from  8  to  10.  But  they  have  come  early;  for  it 
is  not  merely  a  class,  but  a  club  and  a  college;  several  of  them  are 
anxious,  too,  to  have  a  private  word  with  the  tutor.  The  tutor,  he  learns, 
is  an  Oxford  graduate  with  a  good  honours  degree  in  his  subject,  but, 
if  he  talks  to  him,  he  will  find  that  he  has  learnt  most  of  his  philosophy 
in  discussions  with  working  people.  For  of  the  two  hours  of  a  tutorial 
class,  the  first  only  is  used  for  exposition;  the  second  is  sacred  to  dis- 
cussion. So  that  a  class  consists,  as  has  been  said,  not  of  twenty-five 
students  and  a  tutor,  but  of  twenty-six  students  who  learn  together. 
There  is  also  a  library  in  the  room  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  volumes  bearing 
on  the  subject;  at  least,  the  box  is  there,  but  the  books  are  almost  all  in 
use.  But  the  class,  which  is  a  democratic  organism,  has  its  own  elected 
librarian  and  secretary,  and  from  them  he  can  learn  all  that  he  wishes 
to  know.  He  will  find  that  the  books  are  not  only  diligently  read,  but 
form  a  basis  for  essays  which  are  a  regular  part  of  the  class  work.  He 

[72] 


will  discover  how  various  and  vexatious  are  the  obstacles  that  industrial 
life  sets  in  the  way  of  this  new  type  of  university  student — the  ravages 
of  overtime,  the  anxieties  of  unemployment,  the  suspicions  of  foremen 
and  managers,  the  difficulties  of  obtaining  quiet  for  reading  and  writing. 
He  will  hear  of  one  student,  nearly  blind,  who  came  regularly  to  class 
and  made  pathetic  attempts  to  do  his  paper-work  in  large  letters  on  a 
.  sheet  of  wallpaper ;  of  another  who  found  it  quietest  to  go  early  to  bed 
and  rise  again  after  midnight  for  an  hour  or  two  of  study;  of  another 
who,  joining  a  class  at  sixty-nine,  attended  regularly  for  six  years  until 
the  very  week  of  his  death.  And  in  the  discussion,  if  he  stays  for  it,  he 
will  hear  the  old  problems  of  philosophy  first  raised  in  Plato  (who  is  still 
used  as  a  text-book)  thrashed  out  anew  from  the  living  experience  of 
grown  men  and  women." 

RUSKIN   COLLEGE 

In  1899  Ruskin  College  was  established  by  three  Americans — Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Walter  Vrooman  and  Charles  Beard.  The  Governing1 
Body  was  constituted  of  university  men  and  trade  union  leaders. 
The  location  of  Ruskin  College  is  Oxford.  Its  purpose  is  the  prp- 
vision  of  education  for  adult  members  of  the  working  class  in  his- 
tory, economics,  political  science,  literature,  and  other  branches  of 
the  social  sciences.  It  seeks  to  offer  "a  training  in  subjects  which 
are  essential  for  working  class  leadership." 

Attendance. 

Six  hundred  students  have  passed  through  the  college  in  one  and 
two  year  courses.  There  are  accommodations  for  fifty  a  year.  More 
than  10,000  have  carried  on  the  correspondence  courses. 

Cost. 

The  fees  charged  are  £65  a  year  for  a  college  year  of  thirty-three 
weeks.  The  trade  unions  contribute  £750  a  year  to  Ruskin.  Ruskin 
College  requires  an  income  of  £4,000  a  year.  It  has  recently  appealed 
to  the  public  for  an  endowment  of  £76,000.  The  appeal  is  signed 
by  such  well-known  members  of  the  community  as  Arthur  Balfour, 
Sir  Auckland  Geddes,  David  Lloyd  George,  Sir  Robert  Home,  and 
Violet  Markham. 

Doubts. 

In  1909  certain  of  the  students,  led  by  George  Sims,  and  Frank 
Hodges,  "revolted,"  and  established  the  Central  Labor  College  (now 

[73] 


the  Labor  College).  They  believed  that  Ruskin  was  imbibing  uni- 
versity atmosphere,  instead  of  steering  a  working  class  revolutionary 
movement. 

In  1910,  Ruskin  was  reorganized,  and  the  administration  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  working  class  representatives,  with  three 
consultative  members. 

The  location  at  Oxford,  and  the  fact  that  individual  subscriptions 
are  necessary  to  its  maintenance,  have  created  a  "feeling"  against 
Ruskin  in  the  mind  of  the  "left"  of  labor.  But  thoroughly  repre- 
sentative leaders  of  labor  are  on  the  governing  council — such  persons 
as  Margaret  Bondfield,  Ben  Tillett  and  T.  E.  Naylor. 

LABOR  COLLEGE 

The  sub- warden  says : 
/ 

"The  Labor  College  teaches  the  workman  to  look  for  the  causes  of 

social  evils  in  the  material  foundation  of  society;  that  these  causes  are 
economic;  that  their  elimination  involves  economic  changes  of  such  a 
character  as  to  lead  to  the  eradication  of  capitalist  economy." 

The  instruction  is  based  largely  upon  the  teachings  of  Karl  Marx. 

Control. 

The  college  is  based  upon  the  recognition  of  the  antagonism  of 
interests  between  capital  and  labor.  The  Labor  College  is  owned 
and  controlled  by  the  Board  of  labor  organizations,  establishing 
scholarships.  There  are  three  persons  on  the  Board  from  the  South 
Wales  Miners'  Federation,  and  three  from  the  National  Union  of 
Railwaymen.  The  college  costs  £3,200  a  year,  and  the  income  comes 
from  scholarship  fees  raised  by  the  unions.  The  cost  of  a  scholarship 
is  i  125  a  year.  The  students  are  sent,  in  most  cases,  for  a  period  of 
two  years. 

Attendance. 

The  Labor  College  (which  is  situated  in  London)  has  forty  resi- 
dential students. 

One  thousand  students  attend  the  local  lecture  courses,  which  are 
classes  held  in  South  Wales,  Lancashire,  Northumberland,  Durham, 
and  industrial  centres.  There  are  correspondence  courses  and  lec- 

[74] 


tures  by  post.     All  told,  the  Labor  College  reaches  six  thousand  stu- 
dents a  year. 

In  1908,  the  Plebs  League  was  formed  of  ex-students  and  sup- 
porters. It  numbers  now  nearly  800  paid  up  members,  and  30 
branches. 

In  1909,  came  the  revolt  from  Ruskin.  For  two  years  the  college 
remained  in  Oxford. 

In  1911,  it  moved  to  London. 

The  Plebs  League  continues  "to  further  the  interests  of  inde- 
pendent working-class  education  as  a  partisan  effort  to  improve  the 
position  of  labor  at  present,  and  ultimately  to  assist  in  the  abolition 
of  wage-slavery." 

"I  can  promise  to  be  candid  but  not  impartial,"  says  "The  Plebs," 
organ  of  the  Plebs  League. 

And  again  it  has  said : 

"We  want  neither  your  crumbs  nor  your  condescension,  your 
guidance  nor  your  glamor,  your  tuition  nor  your  tradition." 

One  of  the  promoters  of  the  Plebs  League  and  of  the  Labor  College 
is  J.  F.  Horrabin,  who  prepared  the  maps  for  H.  G.  Wells's  "The 
Outline  of  History." 

Two  of  the  famous  graduates  of  the  Labor  College  are  Frank 
Hodges,  Secretary  of  the  Miners'  Federation  of  Great  Britain,  and 
Concemore  Thomas  Cramp,  industrial  organizer  of  the  National 
Union  of  Railwaymen. 

Plans  are  under  way  to  increase  residential  facilities  so  that  70 
students  can  be  accommodated.  The  miners  and  railwaymen  have 
authorized  an  expenditure  of  $100,000  (£21,000). 

A  compliment  from  a  hostile  source  to  the  efficacy  of  the  Labor 
College  is  that  of  the  "London  Times"  of  October  7,  1919: 

"The  influential  men  (in  strikes)  are  not  even  Bolshevists.  They  are 
middle-class  intellectuals  and  workmen  who  have  been  through  one  or 
other  of  the  labor  colleges,  where  they  have  imbibed  theories  about  the 
social  and  industrial  order  which  seem  to  them  perfectly  true  and  wise 
because  they  do  not  know  enough  to  detect  the  fallacies.  These  men 
who  are  young,  are  most  numerous  among  the  railwaymen  and  miners, 
and  this  is  the  chief  reason  why  these  industries  are  the  special,  though 
not  the  only,  hot  beds  of  disorder." 

[75] 


BELGIAN  WORKERS'  EDUCATION 

The  Belgian  Central  Board  for  Workers'  Education  was  founded 
in  1911.  It  is  one  third  endowed,  and  two  thirds  supported  by 
labor  contributions.  The  Board  is  made  up  of  representatives  of 
the  Labor  Party,  the  labor  unions  and  the  cooperative  societies. 
It  exists  to  stimulate  local  effort.  It  induces  labor  organizations  to 
use  their  own  money  for  educational  work.  Its  purpose  is,  according 
to  its  own  constitution,  to  develop  and  coordinate  all  institutions  that 
aim  at  "providing  the  workers  with  such  knowledge  and  qualities  as 
will  facilitate  their  emancipation  as  a  class  in  every  field." 

Among  the  many  enterprises  of  the  Board,  it  is  successfully  work- 
ing out  a  labor  school  system.  This  applies  to  the  three  groups  of 
workers  (defined  in  the  opening  pages  of  this  pamphlet)  by  elemen- 
tary local  schools  with  cycles  of  lecture-lessons,  district  schools,  and 
higher  national  schools.  The  national  schools  are  specialized  into 
trade  union,  cooperative,  socialist,  political,  a  school  for  municipal 
councillors,  and  so  on. 

This  Belgian  experiment  is  thus  in  its  beginnings  more  system- 
atized than  the  older  British  experiment.  It  recognizes  more  frankly 
the  differences  in  the  capacity  of  the  students.  On  the  other  hand 
it  has  not  had  the  long  test  of  the  British  practice.  An  admirable 
account  of  the  Belgian  experiment  was  given  by  Dr.  Henry  de  Man, 
the  Belgian  labor  leader,  director  of  the  Belgian  Board  of  Labor 
Education,  in  the  "Survey"  for  September  1,  1920.  His  summary  is  so 
well  done  and  so  important  that  it  would  be  an  'act  of  impertinence 
to  rewrite  or  shorten  it.  The  title  of  his  article  is  "How  Belgian 
Labor  is  Educating  Itself."  Elsewhere  he  has  stated  what  labor  edu- 
cation means  in  the  following  way : 

"When  labor  strikes,  it  says  to  its  master:  I  shall  no  longer  work  at 
your  command.  When  it  votes  for  a  party  of  its  own  it  says :  I  shall  no 
longer  vote  at  your  command.  When  it  creates  its  own  classes  and 
colleges,  it  says:  I  shall  no  longer  think  at  your  command.  Labor's 
challenge  to  education  is  the  most  fundamental  of  the  three." 


C76] 


WHAT  TO  READ 

A  Bibliography  on  Workers'  Education.* 

LABOR   COLLEGES 

BELGIUM 

Man,  Henry  de — How  Belgian  Labor  is  Educating  Itself.  (In  Survey,  N. 
Y.,  v.  44,  p.  667-70,  Sept.  1,  1920.) 

GERMANY 

Best,  R.  H.,  and  Ogden,  C.  K. — The  Problem  of  the  Continuation  School 
and  Its  Successful  Solution  in  Germany.  London,  P.  S.  King  & 
Son,  1914.  79  p. 

GREAT  BRITAIN 

Begbie,  Harold — Living  Water ;  Being  Chapters  from  the  Romance  of  the 
Poor  Student.     London,  Headley  Bros.,  1918.     209  p. 
Novel  dealing  with  the  W.  E.  A. 

Central  Labour  College.     (In  Labour  Year  Book.    1919.    p.  294-295.) 

History  of  movement,  origin  as  a  revolt  against  conservatism  of  Ruskin 
College.  Supported  by  miners'  and  railway  unions  and  backed  by  Plebs 
League. 

— O  Cole,  G.  D.  H. — British  Labour  Movement;  A  Syllabus  for  Classes  and 
Study  Circles.  London,  Labour  Research  Department.   1920.  30  p. 

Cole,  G.  D.  H. — Labour  and  Education.  (In  Labour  in  the  Common- 
wealth. 1919.  p.  147-165.) 

•f~Cole,  G.  D.  H. — Proletarianism.    (In  Labour  in  the  Commonwealth.  1919. 
p.  166-178.) 

4-    Cole,  G.  D.  H. — Trade  Unionism  and  Education.     (In  Workers'  Educa- 
tional Ass'n,  W.  E.  A.  Education  Year  Book.    1918.    p.  370-373.) 

Traces  history  of  the  C.  L.  C..  the  quarrel  with  Ruskin  College,  the 
guardianship  of  the  C.  L.  C.  by  South  Wales  Miners'  Federation  and 
National  Union  of  Railwaymen.  The  C.  L.  C.  is  "aggressively  Marxian." 
Outline  of  educational  policy  for  trade  unions. 

Educational  Programmes.  (In  Labour  Year  Book.  1919.  p.  288-298.) 
Summaries  of  organization  and  work  of  the  several  British  labor  colleges. 

Feis,  Herbert — Economics  in  the  British  Workers'  Educational  Associa- 
tion. (In  Quart.  Jour,  of  Economics.  Cambridge,  v.  34,  p.  366-72, 
Feb.,  1920.) 

George,  Reuben — Unconventional  Approaches  to  Adult  Education.  Lon- 
don. 1919.  8  p. 

Gillman,  F.  J. — The  Workers  and  Education ;  A  Record  of  Some  Present- 
day  Experiments.  London,  George  Allen  and  Unwin.  1916.  66  p. 
Educational  work  of  the  settlements. 


*  From   "Modern   Social   Movements."  by   Savel   Zimand,  published  by  H.   W. 
Wilson  Co. 

[77] 


Great  Britain,  Ministry  of  Reconstruction.  Adult  Education  Committee — 
Final  Report.  London,  H.  M.  Stationery  Office.  1919.  p.  409. 
(Cmd.  321.) 

Contains  inclusive  account  of  trade  union  education  in  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States,  covering  most  of  the  colleges  established. 

Great  Britain,  Ministry  of  Reconstruction.    Adult  Education  Committee — 
Industrial  and  Social  Conditions  in  Relation  to  Adult  Education. 
London,  H.  M.  Stationery  Office.    1918.    32  p.     (Cd.  9107.) 
Given  in  substance  in  "Labour  Conditions  and  Adult  Education." 

Greenwood,  Arthur — The  Education  of  the  Citizen ;  Being  a  Summary  of 
the  Proposals  of  the  Adult  Education  Committee.  London,  W.  E. 
A.  64  p. 

Horrabin,  J.  F. — Plebs  League.  (In  Workers'  Educational  Ass'n,  W.  E. 
A.  Year  Book.  1918.  p.  390-391.) 

Break  of  the  C.  L.  C.  with  Ruskin  College,  and  formation  of  Plebs  League 
to  back  the  work  of  the  C.  L.  C. 

Horwill,  H.  W. — Education  of  the  Adult  Worker.  (In  Nation,  N.  Y.,  v. 
108,  p.  738-739.  May  10,  1919.) 

Mactavish,  J.  M. — Education  in  its  Relation  to  Labour  and  Industry. 
London,  W.  E.  A.  1919.  15  p. 

Mansbridge,  Albert — An  Adventure  in  Working-Class  Education ;  Being 
the  Story  of  the  Workers'  Educational  Association,  1903-19]  5. 
N.  Y.,  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.  1920.  73  p. 

Mansbridge,  Albert — Education  and  the  Working  Classes.  (In  The 
Contemporary  Review,  June,  1918.) 

Mansbridge,  Albert — Universities  and  Labor;  an  Educational  Adventure 
in  England  and  Her  Overseas  Dominions.  (In  Atlantic  MonMy, 
Boston,  v.  124  p.  275-282.  August,  1919.) 

A  review  of  the  organizations,  the  work,  and  the  co-operation  of  university 
instructors  with  the  workers'  organizations. 

'       Mansbridge,  Albert — University  Tutorial  Classes;  A  Study  in  the  De- 
velopment   of    Higher    Education    Among  Working    Men    and 
Women.     N.  Y.,  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.  1918.     197  p. 
The  fullest  summary  on  the  subject. 

Oxford  University  Extension  Delegacy,  Tutorial  Classes  Committee — Re- 
port for  the  year.  Oxford.  1913 — date. 

Oxford  University  Extension  Delegacy,  Tutorial  Classes  Committee — Re- 
port on  the  Working  of  the  Summer  Classes  Held  During  the  Long 
Vacation  at  Oxford  in  Balliol  College  and  New  College.  Oxford. 
1911.  61  p. 

Parry,  R.  St.  J.,  Ed. — Cambridge  Essays  on  Adult  Education.  Cam- 
bridge [Eng.]  University  Press.  1920.  230  p. 

Paul,  Eden  and  Cedar — Independent  Working  Class  Education ;  Thoughts 
and  Suggestions.  London,  Workers'  Socialist  Federation.  Lon- 
don. 1918.  31  p. 

[73] 


Plebs  League — What  Is  Independent  Working-Class  Education  ?  London. 
1920.  16  p. 

Ruskin  College — What  It  Is  and  What  It  Stands  For.  London,  Co- 
operative Printing  Society  Limited.  1918.  24  p. 

Smith,  Sam — Ruskin  College,  Oxford.  (In  Workers'  Educational  Ass'n. 
W.E.  A.  Education  Year  Book.  1918.  p.  388-389.) 

Foundation,  support,  and  government  by  trade  union  and  co-operative  union 
representatives.  Courses,  scholarship,  publications,  etc. 

Tawney,  R.  H. — An  Experiment  in  Democratic  Education.  (In  Oxford 
[Eng.]  Political  Quarterly,  May,  1914.) 

Workers'  Educational  Association — Annual  Report  and  Statement  of 
Accounts.  London,  1903-date. 

Plans,  classes,  summer  schools,  libraries,  literature  and  directory  of 
branches  in  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies. 

Workers'   Educational  Association — Education  and  the  Working  Class. 
London,  1914.    25  p. 
A  statement  of  objective  reprinted  from  the  Round  Table  of  March  1914. 

Workers'  Educational  Association — The  W.  E.  A.  Education  Year  Book. 
1918.  London,  Workers'  Educational  Association,  N.  Y.,  Ginn  & 
Co.  1918.  507  p. 

Complete  account  of  workingmen's  education  in  Great  Britain.  Introduc- 
tion bv  G.  B.  Shaw,  contributions  by  S.  G.  Hobson,  G.  D.  H.  Cole.  H.  G. 
Wells,  John  Galsworthy  and  others,  covering  the  history  and  teaching 
method  of  the  W.  E.  A. 

World  Association  for  Adult  Education.  London.  University  Tutorial 
Class  Movement.  London.  1919.  30  p.  (Bui.  2.) 

GREAT  BRITAIN — PERIODICALS 

The  Highway.  A  Monthly  Journal  of  Education.  Published  by  the  W. 
E.  A. 

The  Plebs  Magazine.  Printed  by  Fox  Jones  &  Co.  at  Kempt  Hall,  Ox- 
ford. Continued  as  "The  Plebs."  Printed  at  the  Pelican  Press, 
London. 

The  Ruskin  Review.     Oxford  Chronicle  Company,  Oxford. 

GREAT  BRITAIN —  DIRECTORY 

Labour  College  (Until  recently  Central  Labour  College),  13  Penywern 
Road,  London,  S.  W.  5. 

Plebs  League.  (Graduates  and  students  of  Labour  College.)  Mrs.  W. 
Horrabin,  lla  Penywern  Road,  Earl's  Court,  London,  S.W.  5. 

Ruskin  College,  Oxford,  Secretary.  Sam  Smith,  Ruskin  College,  Oxford, 
England. 

Workers'  Educational  Association.  General  Secretary.  J.  M.  Mac- 
tavish,  16  Harpur  Street,  London,  W.C.  1. 

World  Association  for  Adult  Education,  13  John  St.,  Adelphi,  London, 
W.  C.  2. 

[79] 


UNITED  STATES 

American  Federation  of  Labor.  Committee  on  Schools  Under  Union  Aus- 
pices. Report.  (In  American  Federation  of  Labor.  Rept.  of 
Proc.  of  39th  Annual  Convention.  Washington,  D.  C.,  1919. 
p.  135-144.) 

Boston  Trade  Union  College.  (In  School  and  Society.  Garrison,  N.  Y. 
v.  9,  p.  443-444,  Apr.  12,  1919.) 

Budish,  J.  M. — Educational  and  Culture  Within  Reach  of  Our  Workers. 
(In  Fur  Worker,  N.  Y.  Sept.  1919.)  Reprinted -in  N.  Y.  Call. 

Budish,  J.  M.,  and  Soule,  George. — Education.  (In  New  Unionism  in 
the  Clothing  Industry,  N.  Y.  Harcourt,  Brace  and  Howe.  1920. 
p.  205-228.) 

Adequate  account  of  the  educational  work  of  the  unions  in  the  clothing 
industry. 

Carlton,  Frank  Tracy — Organized  Labor  in  American  History.     N.  Y., 
D.  Appleton  &  Co.    1920.    313  p. 
Free  School  and  the  Wage  Earner,    p.  62-77. 

Part   of   labor   in  establishing  common   school   education  and  attitude   of 
A.  F.  of  L.  toward  education. 

Cohn,  F.  M. — Educational  Work  of  the  International  Ladies'  Garment 
Workers'  Union.  (In  American  Labor  Year  Book,  v.  3,  1919-20. 
p.  204-6.) 

Dana,  H.  W.  L. — Boston  Labor  College.     (In  Socialist  Review,  N.  Y.,  v. 
'.8,  p.  27.    Dec.,  1919.) 

Dana,  H.  W.  L. — New  Labor  College.  (In  Young  Democracy,  N.  Y.,  v. 
1,  No.  11,  p.  4.  Oct.,  1919.) 

Education  for  Workers.  (In  Survey,  N.  Y.  v.  43,  p.  437.  Jan.  17,  1920.) 
Brief  review  of  work  of  Trade  Union  College  of  Boston,  of  Chicago,  and 
International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union  Educational  Committee. 

Fichandler,  Alexander — JLabor  Education.  (In  Survey,  N.  Y.,  v.  45.  p. 
542-3.  Jan.  8,  1921.) 

Fichandler,  Alexander. — Workers'  Education;  Why  and  What?  (In 
Socialist  Review,  N.  Y.,  v.  10,  p.  49-50.  Apr.-May,  1921.) 

ox,  G.  M.— When  Labor  Goes  to  School.    N.  Y.,  Nat'l  Board  Y.  W.  C. 

A..  1920.    30  p. 
Gleason,  Arthur— W.  E.  B.  (In  Survey,  N.  Y.,  v.  46,  p.  42.  Apr.  9,  1921.) 

Gleason,  Arthur — Workers'  Education.  (In  New  Republic,  N.  Y.,  v.  26, 
p.  235-7.  Apr.  20,  1921.) 

Labor  in  Quest  of  Beauty.  (In  Survey,  N.  Y.,  v.  42,  p.  199.  May  3,  1919.) 

Man,  Henry  de. — Labor's  Challenge  to  Education.     (In  New  Republic, 

N.  Y.,  v.  26,  p.  16-18.    March  2,  1921.) 
Maurer,  J.  H. — Labor  Education.    (In  Pennsylvania  Federation  of  Labor. 

Proc.  of  the  annual  convention.    19th.  p.  53-5,  1920.) 

Also  report  on  workers'  educational  classes  in  Pennsylvania  during  1920- 

1921.     Submitted  to  the  20th  annual  convention,  1921. 

[80] 


Mine  Labor  Moves  Forward.    (In  New  Republic,  N.  Y.,  v.  26,  p.  58-60. 
March  16,  1921.) 

1  Sterling,  Henry. — Labor's  Attitude  Toward  Education.     (In  School  and 
Society.   Garrison,  N.  Y.,  v.  10,  p.  128-32.   Aug.  2,  1919.) 

Stoddard,  W.  L. — Boston  Trade  Union  College.     (In  Nation,  N.  Y., 
v.  109,  p.  298-300.  Aug.  30,  1919.) 

Stoddard,  W.  L. — Labor  Goes  to  College.    (In  Independent,  N.  Y.,  v.  98, 
p.  216.    May  10,  1919.) 

")  Sweeney,  Charles  Patrick — Adult  Working-Class  Education  in  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States.  Wash.,  Govt.  Print.  Off.,  1920. 
101  p.  (U.  S.  Labor  Statistics  Bureau,  Bui.  No.  271.) 

Trade  Union  College.    (In  American  Review  of  Reviews,  N.  Y.,  v.  60, 
p.  441-442.   Oct.  1919.) 
Boston. 

Trade  Union  College.    (In  New  Republic,  N.  Y.,  v.  18,  p.  395.   Apr.  26, 
1919.) 

Trade  Union  College.     (In  Survey,  N.  Y.,  v.  42,  p.  113-114.    Apr.  19, 
1919.) 
Boston. 

Workers'  Education :  A  Symposium.    Reprinted  from  the  Ship  Builders' 
News  and  Navy  Yard  Employee,  for  Sept.,  1919,  by  the  Indus- 
trial Committee  of  the  Department  of  Research  and  Method  of  the 
National  Board  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.    1920.    15  p. 
Contents :    Dana,  H.  W.  L.     Boston  Trade  Union  College. 

Beard.  C.  A.    New  School  for  Social  Research. 

Budish,  J.  M.     United  Labor  Education  Committee. 

Poyntz,  J.  S.    Workers'  University. 

Tannenbaum,  Frank.    Labor  and  Education. 

Cady,  M.  L.    Workers'  Education  and  the  Young  Women's 
Christian  Association. 

UNITED  STATES — DIRECTORY 

Workers'  Education  Bureau  of  America.  465  West  23rd  Street.  New 
York  City.    Spencer  Miller,  Jr.,  Sec'y. 

District  of  Columbia — Washington 

Trade  Union  College  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  1423  New  York  Ave.,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.    Mary  C.  Dent,  Sec'y. 

Illin  ois — Chicago 

Chicago  Federation  of  Labor,  Educational  Council,  166  W.  Washington 
Street,  Chicago,  111. 

National  Women's  Trade  Union  League,  Training  School  for  Women 
Labor  Leaders,  311  South  Ashland  Boulevard,  Chicago,  111.  Alice 
Henry,  Educational  Director. 

[81] 


Maryland — Baltimore 

Dr.  Broadus  Mitchell,  Department  of  Political  Economy,  Johns  Hop- 
kins University,  Baltimore,  Maryland. 

Massachusetts — A  mh  erst 

Amherst  College,  Classes  for  Workers,  Amherst,  Mass.  F.  Stacy  May, 
Sec'y. 

Boston 

Trade  Union  College  of  Boston,  634  Little  Building,  Boston,  Mass. 
Mabel  Gillespie,  Sec'y. 

Michigan — D  etroit 

Workers'  Educational  Association,  2101  Gratiot  Ave.  Thomas  Smock, 
Sec'y. 

Minnesota — Duluth 

Work  Peoples'  College,  Box  166,  Riverside  Station,  Duluth,  Minn.  George 
Humon,  Principal. 

Minneapolis 

Workers'  College  of  Minneapolis,  225  South  Fifth  Street,  Minneapolis, 
Minn.  Edward  Maurer,  Registrar. 

St.  Paul 

St.  Paul  Labor  College,  75  West  7th- Street,  St.  Paul,  Minn.  S.  S.  Tingle, 
Sec'y. 

New  York  State — Katonah 

Brookwood  School,  Katonah,  N.  Y.  William  M.  Fincke,  Educational 
Director. 

New   York  City 

Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  America,  National  Education  De- 
partment, 31  Union  Square,  New  York  City.  J.  B.  Salutsky, 
Director. 

Cooperative  League  of  America,  Classes  in  Cooperation,  2  West  13th 
Street,  New  York  City.  A.  D.  Warbasse,  Educational  Sec'y. 

International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union,  Educational  Department, 
31  Union  Square,  New  York  City.  Fannia  M.  Cohn,  Sec'y;  Alex- 
ander Fichandler,  Educational  Director. 

International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers,  Local  25,  16  West  21st  Street, 
New  York  City.  Elsie  Gliick,  Educational  Director. 

International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union,  Union  Health  Center, 
131  East  17th  Street,  New  York  City.  Harry  Wander,  Chairman. 

Rand  School  of  Social  Science,  7  East  15th  Street,  New  York  City. 
Algernon  Lee,  Director ;  Bertha  Mailly,  Sec'y. 

Trade  Union  College  of  Greater  New  York,  208  West  14th  Street,  New 
York  City.  Mrs.  A.  Riley  Hale,  Sec'y. 

[82] 


United  Labor  Education  Committee,  41  Union  Square,  New  York  City. 
J.  M.  Budish,  Chairman. 

Rochester 

Rochester  Labor  College,  476  Clinton  Ave.,  N.    Paul  Blanshard,  Educa- 
tional Director. 

Ohio — Cleveland 

International   Ladies'   Garment   Workers'   Union,   Workers'   University, 
1024  Walnut  Street,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Pennsylvania 

Pennsylvania  Labor  Education  Committee,  c/o  Pennsylvania  State  Fed- 
eration of   Labor,   Commonwealth  Trust   Bldg.,  Harrisburg,   Pa. 

Allentown 
Allentown  Labor  School,  205  Carlisle  Street.    Clarence  Moser,  Sec'y. 

Bethlehem 
Bethlehem  Labor  School,  643  E.  North  Street.    J.  W.  Hendricks,  Sec'y. 

Bryn  Mawr 

Bryn  Mawr  College,  Summer  School  for  Women  Workers  in  Industry. 
Miss  Ernestine  Friedmann,  Sec'y. 

Harrisburg. 
Harrisburg  Labor  School,  1604  Derry  Street.    J.  R.  Copenhaver,  Sec'y. 

Lancaster 
Lancaster  Labor  Class,  150  East  Lemon  Street.     Samuel  Hoover,  Sec'y. 

Pen  Argyl 
Pen  Argyl  Labor  Class.     Samuel  Davey,  Sec'y. 

Philadelphia 

Trade  Union   College  of    Philadelphia,    1702   Arch   Street.     Frieda   S. 
Miller,  Sec'y. 

Pittsburgh 

Trade  Union  College  of  Pittsburgh,  1718  Lowrie  Street,  N.  S.     Sarah 
Z.  Limbach,  Sec'y. 

Pottsville 

Pottsville  Labor  School,  110  North  Center  Street.     Wm.  H.  Dietrich, 
Sec'y. 

Reading 
Reading  Labor  School,  139  Greenwich  Street.    George  W.  Snyder,  Sec'y 

Washington — Seattle 

Workers  College  of  Seattle,  Labor  Temple.    W.  J.  Henry,  Sec'y, 

[83] 


READING  LIST  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 
(These  books  have  been  found  useful  in  labor  classes} 
Andrews,  J.  B. — Labor  Problems  and  Labor  Legislation. 
Beard,  C.  A. — Industrial  Revolution. 
Beard,  Mary — A  Short  History  of  the  American  Labor  Movement. 

Blanshard,  Paul — 27  Questions  and  Answers  on  the  Open  Shop  Move- 
ment. N.  Y.  Amalgamated  Clothing  Workers  of  America.  1921. 
24  p.  (Amalgamated  Educational  Pamphlets.  No.  4.) 

Bogart,  E.  L. — Economic  History  of  the  United  States. 
Clay,  Henry — Economics  for  the  General  Reader. 

Cole,  G.  D.  H. — British  Labor  Movement:  A  Syllabus  for  Classes  and 
Study  Circles.  London.  Labor  Research  Dept.  1920.  30  p. 
(Syllabus  Series  No.  1.) 

Cole,  G.  D.  H.— World  of  Labor. 

Cole,  G.  D.  H. — Self-Government  in  Industry. 

Cole,  G.  D.  H. — Chaos  and  Order  in  Industry. 

Coman,  Katherine — Industrial  History  of  the  United  States. 

Commons,  J.  R.  and  Andrews — Principles  of  Labor  Legislation. 

Craik,  W.  W. — Short  History  of  the  British  Working-Class  Movement. 

Goodrich,  Carter — Frontier  of  Control. 

Groat,  G.  G. — Attitude  of  American  Courts  in  Labor  Cases. 

Groat,  G.  G. — Organized  Labor  in  American  History. 

Henry,  Alice — Trade  Union  Woman. 

Hoxie,  R.  F. — Trade  Unionism  in  the  United  States. 

Interchurch  World  Movement.  Commission  of  Inquiry — Report  on  the 
Steel  Strike  of  1919. 

Kirkup,  Thomas  and  Pease,  E.  R. — A  Primer  of  Socialism. 
Laidler,  Harry — Socialism  in  Thought  and  Action. 
Laidler,  Harry — Boycotts  and  the  Labor  Struggle. 

Lauck,  W.  J.  and  Sydenstricker — Conditions  of  Labor  in  American  In- 
dustries. 

Lilienthal,  M.  S. — From  Factory  to  Fireside. 
Lloyd,  C.  M. — Trade  Unionism. 
Lloyd,  C.  M. — The  British  Labor  Movement. 

[84] 


Martin,  E.  D. — Behavior  of  Crowd*. 

Russell,  Bertrand — Proposed  Roads  to  Freedom. 

Soule,  George — Recent  Developments  in  Trade  Unionism.  N.  Y.  Amal- 
gamated Clothing  Workers  of  America.  1921.  32  p.  (Amalga- 
mated Educational  Pamphlets  No.  3.) 

Tawney,  R.  H. — The  Acquisitive  Society. 

Webb,  Sidney  and  Beatrice — History  of  Trade  Unionism. 

Webb,  Sidney  and  Beatrice. — Industrial  Democracy. 

Wells,  H.  G.— Outline  of  History. 

Wolman,  Leo — Boycott  in  American  Trade  Unions. 

Woolf,  Leonard — Co-operation  and  the  Future  of  Industry,  £&^' 


[85] 


INTERNATIONAL    LADIES'    GARMENT    WORKERS'    UNION 
EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT 

Outline  of  Lectures  by  Dr.  Harry  Laidler 
INJUNCTIONS  IN  LABOR  DISPUTES 

The  place  of  injunctions  as  a  remedy  in  law — Conditions  under  which 
injunctions  are  ordinarily  issued — Questions  of  irreparable  injury — No 
remedy  at  law — The  use  of  injunctions  in  labor  disputes — Beginnings  in 
the  United  States — Railroad  cases  of  the  nineties. 

Conditions  under  which  injunctions  are  issued  during  strikes — Evolu- 
tion of  law  of  conspiracy  in  relation  to  strikes — Strike  for  improved  con- 
ditions of  employment — Strike  for  closed  shop — Sympathetic  strikes — 
Decision  in  New  York  State — Decision  of  Judge  Alton  B.  Parker  in 
National  Protective  Association_vs.  Cummings — Decisions  in  recent  cloth- 
ing strikes — Duplex  Printing  Company  vs.  Deering. 

Injunctions  in  cases  of  picketing — Element  of  coercion — Violence,  etc. 
— Picketing  during  illegal  strikes — Status  in  New  York  State. 

Injunctions  in  boycott  cases — History  of  boycotts — Classification  of 
boycotts — American  Railway  case — Buck  Stove  and  Range — Duplex 
Printing  Company — Present  legal  status  of  boycotts  in  the  United  States 
— Reasons,  legal  and  economic  for  legalization  of  boycotts. 

BOYCOTTS 

Origin  of  the  word  boycott — Definition  of  boycotts  in  labor  disputes — 
Classification  of  boycotts — primary — secondary — compound. 

History  of  boycotts  in  the  United  States — Boycotting  during  the 
eighties  by  the  Knights  of  Labor — Railroad  boycotts  of  the  nineties  in  the 
American  Railway  Union  and  other  strikes — The  boycotts  of  the  Ameri- 
can Federation  of  Labor — The  Danbury  Hatters,  Buck  Stove  and  Range 
and  other  cases — Recent  boycott  cases. 

Methods  of  enforcing  boycotts — Elements  of  success  in  boycotting — 
Character  of  the  commodity  boycotted — Character  of  the  firm  boycotted — 
Character  of  the  boycotting  union. 

The  legal  status  of  the  boycott — Legal  reasons  for  legality  and  illegality 
of  boycotting. 

Economic  reasons  for  and  against  making  boycotts  legal — Result  of 
legality  of  boycotting — Substitutes  for  boycotts. 


[86] 


THE  BUREAU  OF   INDUSTRIAL   RESEARCH 
announces  the  publication  of : 

WORKERS'  EDUCATION. 

A  study  of  American  and  foreign  experiments  in  education  under 
working-class  direction  and  control.  Particular  attention  is  given 
to  the  extent,  methods  and  results  of  the  most  recent  American 
developments.  By  Arthur  Gleason.  1921.  50c.* 

THE  OPEN  SHOP  DRIVE. 

A  fact  statement  as  to  the  extent  of  the  recent  open  shop  propa- 
ganda, its  proponents  and  methods,  together  with  a  large  number 
of  supporting  documents.  By  Savel  Zimand.  1921.  50c.* 

MODERN  SOCIAL  MOVEMENTS,  a  Descriptive  Bibliography. 

A  brief  account  is  given  of  the  present  status  of  the  important 
economic  movements  in  all  the  large  countries  of  the  world,  and  a 
critical  and  selected  list  of  readings  follows  the  statement  of  each 
movement.  By  Savel  Zimand.  With  introduction  by  Charles  A. 
Beard.  H.  W.  Wilson  Co.,  N.  Y.  1921.  $1.80. 

PERSONNEL    ADMINISTRATION;     ITS     PRINCIPLES     AND 
PRACTICE. 

A  systematic  presentation  of  the  methods  of  conducting  personnel 
departments  in  industry,  including  the  work  of  selection,  training, 
industrial  health,  service  work,  joint  relations,  research  and  com- 
munity relations.  By  Ordway  Tead  and  Henry  C.  Metcalf. 
McGraw-Hill  Book  Co.,  N.  Y.  1920.  $5.00. 

AMERICAN  COMPANY  SHOP  COMMITTEE  PLANS. 

A  simple  and  conveniently  arranged  guide  to  the  typical  plans  for 
employee  representation.  The  structure  and  procedure  of  twenty 
extant  shop  committee  plans  is  clearly  set  forth.  1919.  $1.00. 

Also 

THE  INTERCHURCH  WORLD  MOVEMENT  REPORT  ON  THE 
STEEL  STRIKE  OF  1919. 

Prepared  with  the  technical  assistance  of  the  Bureau  of  Industrial 
Research  for  the  Commission  of  Inquiry  of  the  Interchurch  World 
Movement  Harcourt,  Brace  and  Co.,  N.  Y.  1920.  Paper,  1.50; 
cloth,  $2.50. 

PUBLIC  OPINION  AND  THE  STEEL  STRIKE. 

Supplementary  reports  of  the  Steel  Strike  Commission  of  Inquiry 
of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement,  prepared  with  the  technical 
assistance  of  the  Bureau  of  Industrial  Research.  (In  press.) 
Harcourt,  Brace  and  Co.,  N.  Y.  1921.  Paper,  $1.50;  cloth,  $2.50. 


*Half  price  on  all  orders  from  students  and  trade-union  members. 

[37] 


THE  BUREAU  OF  INDUSTRIAL  RESEARCH,  289 
Fourth  Ave.,  New  York,  is  organized  to  promote  sound 
human  relationships  in  industry  by  consultation,  fact  studies 
and  publicity. 

It  maintains  a  library  of  current  information  covering  the 
field  of  industrial  relations  from  which  it  is  prepared  to 
supply  documentary  and  statistical  data  at  moderate  cost  to 
individuals,  corporations,  labor  organizations  and  the  press. 

ROBERT  W.  BRUERE,  Director 
HEBER  BLANKENHORN  LEONARD  OUTHWAITE 

MARY  D.  BLANKENHORN        ORDWAY  TEAD 
ARTHUR  GLEASON  SAVEL  ZIMAND 

HERBERT   CROLY,   Treasurer 


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